A Bit Too Close To Home? The Reason Everyone Should Swipe Right On These Tinder Profiles

The faces of sex trafficking is starting to flood Tinder users, after an Irish agency adopted the dating app to create a campaign that really brings the truth (and a horrifying situation) right into the user’s home. Irish creative agency Eighty-Twenty teamed up with the Immigrant Council of Ireland in a campaign targeting the men who may be paying for sex in Ireland’s towns and cities. The project shows photos of models standing in the place of trafficking victims, as if they are real potential matches on the dating app. Users who decide to search through one of the women’s photos will find the smiling images quickly turn more disturbing with each swipe right, until they reach a message from the campaign, including: "The physical scars of sex trafficking eventually fade. The mental scars last a lifetime." Speaking about the project, Cathal Gillen of Eighty Twenty explained the concept of the campaign on their website: "Tinder has become an extremely popular app in Ireland, and it provides us with a unique, innovative and standout way of communicating to men the issues faced by women involved in sex trafficking." Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland added: “Sex trafficking is one of the most lucrative crimes with the sums involved on a  par with those for drug smuggling and gun running, yet many people are not aware this is it a reality in communities right across Ireland. The Immigrant Council of Ireland is committed to using every possible opportunity to increase awareness about the activities of the thugs behind these crimes and the impact on their victims. “As a frontline agency, we have supported 60 women who were brought here to be sexually exploited while Senior Gardaí confirm that Irish prostitution is run by foreign and domestic criminal gangs in a trade thought to net over €200m a year. It is important that men of all ages who buy sex are made aware of the consequences of their actions.” For further information on how you can get involved in helping fight against sex trafficking, visit the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s website here. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this piece, visit The Rape Crisis Centre here for more information and support. All images via Eighty-Twenty