Human Trafficking in [Italy Street Children in [Italy] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Italy] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the
first ten years of the 21st Century -
2000 to 2009
Italy is a destination and transit
country for women, children, and men trafficked internationally for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and
children are trafficked for forced prostitution mainly from Nigeria, Romania,
Bulgaria, Moldova, Albania, and Ukraine but also from Russia, South America,
North and East Africa, the Middle East, China, and Uzbekistan. Chinese men
and women are trafficked to Italy for the purpose of forced labor. Roma
children continue to be trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation
and forced begging. Men are trafficked for the purpose of forced labor,
mostly in the agricultural sector in southern Italy. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons
Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Italy Rushes in Law to Ban 'Spare Part' Baby Sales Italy's government has vowed to push through legislation to stop the sale of human organs after a female gang auctioned off a newborn child near the southern port of Bari, possibly so that its organs could be used for transplants. The three-strong gang of Ukrainians, including the baby's mother, sold the boy for 350,000 euros (£250,000) while he was still in the womb, not realising that the successful bidders were undercover carabinieri police officers. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Organized
criminal groups were responsible for most trafficking in the country;
prostitution rings routinely moved trafficked persons from city to city to
avoid arrest. Victims of trafficking were
usually lured to The following reported 2004
trafficking investigations remained ongoing at year's end: a Romanian father
who was selling his 10‑year-old child for sex in the outskirts of
Milan; two Albanians, one Egyptian, one Pakistani, and one Italian involved
in trafficking women from Eastern European countries for prostitution; six
Bulgarian men who accompanied Bulgarian women into the country who gave birth
to children and then sold the babies to Italian families for $13,500 (10
thousand euros) each; 12 persons, including 2 police officers, who were
arrested in Sassari and charged with trafficking
for prostitution and falsification of documents; and four persons who were
accused of organizing tours to Brazil that included the sexual services of
girls ages 12 to 17. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2003 [49] The Committee welcomes the adoption
of Act 269/98 against the exploitation of prostitution, pornography, and
sexual tourism targeting children and the establishment of an
Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Coordination of the Government Action
Against Child Abuse and Trafficking in Minors and Women for Sexual Purposes.
Nevertheless, the Committee remains concerned at the numbers of children who
are trafficked for sexual purposes in the State party. Thai
woman jailed for 14 years for human trafficking [name withheld] from Thailand's poor northeast,
lured two women in their 20s and 30s from her hometown with the promise of
work in her daughter's restaurant, a statement from the Fight Against Child
Exploitation (FACE) said. But when the
two women arrived in Italy via
France in 2005, they were told no jobs were available at the restaurant and
they had to work as prostitutes to repay the money Jomsri
lent to them to travel to Europe. Woman,
19, forced to swim with piranhas at circus Police have closed down a circus
in southern Italy after a terrified 19-year-old woman was forced to swim in a
tank full of piranha fish while her younger sister endured the company of
snakes and tarantulas. Three men have been arrested and charged with holding
the Bulgarian women in slavery and breaching international human rights
conventions. Police said that the Bulgarian
family had lived in the back of a cockroach-infested lorry used for animal
transport. The only meat they had been given since January was in leftovers
from the circus owners' Easter lunch last weekend. SOCIAL
TRENDS: Fighting modern-day slavery Once in Italy the victims are
subject to intense physical and emotional abuse, working up to 20 hours a day
under the watchful eye of their pimp or madam, or of a fellow forced sex
worker. They are deprived of their documents and are required to pay board
and lodging as well as rent on the stretch of roadside they work; many are
also tied to their traffickers by a debt bond sometimes running to tens of
thousands of euro, which it can take many years – and thousands of clients –
to redeem. However, due to the stigma still attached to prostitution, the
weight of personal or family expectations or fear of the consequences for
them or their loved ones if they speak out, many are unable or unwilling to
denounce their condition. Trafficking for sexual
exploitation is only the tip of the iceberg – the most visible form of the
phenomenon in Italy that also includes forced labour
especially in the agricultural sector, begging and the sale of drugs. Up to
ten per cent of trafficking victims in Italy are children according to the
2007 Trafficking in Persons Report; they include a growing number of
Romanians as a result of the forced closure of orphanages in Romania imposed
by the European Union as a condition for entry into the EU in 2007. However
the more clandestine nature of these activities and a lower level of public
and political awareness mean that figures are hard to come by and the victims
more difficult to reach. Combating Trafficking for Forced Labor Purposes in the
OSCE Region www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/rm/07/93496.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] Last year, press reports indicated
that in With scars
that will never heal, one woman fights human trafficking "You can't imagine before you
come that you're going to end up a slave," Aikpitanyi
said in an interview in the elegant main square of Aosta,
where she now lives. "You don't realize that the world has returned to
an era of slavery." Her story
mirrors that of tens of thousands of women from Asia, Africa and Eastern
Europe who have been lured to the West by the prospect of well-paid work as
salesclerks or in factories. Once there, however, many find
that the organizations they used to handle the travel arrangements had
criminal intentions in mind. Documents
are withheld. Women find themselves isolated and are frightened into thinking
that they will be deported if they turn to the authorities for help. Many are forced into prostitution,
especially - as Aikpitanyi discovered to her horror
- if there is a substantial travel debt to repay (€30,000, or $42,000, in her
case) and a large family back home to support. Falling Short
of the Mark: An International Study on the Treatment of Human Trafficking
Victims [PDF] ITALY - Italy is generally meeting international
standards under the Trafficking Protocol for the protection of victims of
human trafficking, and it is a signatory to the European Trafficking
Convention. It provides for temporary residence for victims and combines
government funded support with civil society initiatives to protect these
vulnerable persons. There are, however, some troubling cases involving rapid
deportations of victims originating from certain countries which warrant
further attention. RESIDENCE - Since 1998, Italian immigration
law has provided foreign victims of human trafficking with a special
residence permit for a 6-month period. New study shames human traffickers www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143968455 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) says Kenyans were also trafficked to Its report, ‘Trafficking in
Persons — The Eastern Africa Situation’, notes that women and children were favourite targets for well-organised
trafficking rings, which operate freely for lack of solid laws against the
vice. Italy Rushes
in Law to Ban 'Spare Part' Baby Sales Italy's government has vowed to push
through legislation to stop the sale of human organs after a female gang
auctioned off a newborn child near the southern port of Bari,
possibly so that its organs could be used for transplants. The three-strong gang of
Ukrainians, including the baby's mother, sold the boy for 350,000 euros
(£250,000) while he was still in the womb, not realising
that the successful bidders were undercover carabinieri
police officers. Italian police crack down on human trafficking www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1250946.php/Italian_police_crack_down_on_human_trafficking news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1250946.php/Italian_police_crack_down_on_human_trafficking 'The trafficking and forced
prostitution of women, and minors in particular, is one of the most ignoble
crimes committed in Italy,' Amato said.
Police said Wednesday's arrests capped a four-month-long investigation
that allowed them to uncover how human traffickers operate in Italy. Some girls were 'bought' by
traffickers for 200 euros (260 dollars) in their home country and were then
brought to Italy, where they were forced to prostitute themselves. The money
they earned, which averaged 5,000 euros per month, was kept by their captors.
Women who dared rebel were often beaten and abused. Police said one 16-year-old girl was forced
to have unprotected sex and was sent back on the streets until she was
six-months pregnant. Suspected
human trafficking gang leader nabbed in Poland In July, a joint operation saw
Italian and Polish police free more than a hundred Polish citizens that were
being held in Nazi-style labour camps in Italy's
Apulia region, close to the cities of Bari and Foggi. Polish
prosecutors investigating the Italian slave labour
camps using Polish nationals began questioning victims in the case in mid-
October. Polish justice officials
believe that up to 1,000 Poles may have been used as slaves in Nazi-style
agricultural labour camps in the Apulia region that
forms the heel of Italy's boot. Italy Acts To
Combat Trafficking Italy has been viewed as being
strong in the area of anti-traffickign
legislation. 10,000 victims have benefited from their laws between
March 2000 and April 2005. They have given victims training, education
and work. However, Catholic Charity Caritas feels that the initiatives
are not fully meeting their goals. Women are not given enough residency
permits to stay in the country. Also, they are not given legal
protection so they are not secure from deportation. Human
Trafficking Ring Raided in Italy "Gangsters working in Poland
recruited people looking for seasonal jobs picking fruit and vegetables in Italy
through announcements in local newspapers," Bienkowski
told a news conference. He said
workers had to pay travel costs and a one-time work-finders fee of up to
$280. But once in Italy, their situation quickly deteriorated. The workers
were promised $6.30-$7.50 per hour before leaving, but received only $1.25 an
hour after arriving, Bienkowski said. They were quartered in barracks with
horrible sanitary conditions and had to pay for food and board, which pushed
most of them into debt. A
Human Trafficking Victim Speaks With RFE/RL Martina was locked in a Rome
apartment for two months. Instead of working in a restaurant, she was beaten
and raped daily until she was “broken” and had become a sexual slave. Then,
she says, the man who bought her took her out to the street. New
arrests on charges of human trafficking in Bulgaria The actions of Bulgarian police
were co-ordinated with Italy’s top anti-mafia
prosecutor Piero Grasso,
who is head of Italy’s anti-mafia operations. This co-ordination was a result
of Velchev’s and Petkov’s
recent visit to Rome where Grasso asked for their
assistance in the fight against people trafficking. Europe-Wide
Human-Trafficking Ring Cracked Authorities across Europe say they
have arrested 41 Bulgarians in recent days after Italian police uncovered a
trafficking network that exploited hundreds of children. The arrests were in northern Italy,
Bulgaria, Germany, and Austria. Italian police say another 75 people have
been placed under investigation. Charges against the suspects include
enslavement, human trafficking, and drug smuggling. Trafficking
in Women from Nigeria to Europe DESTINATION Mafia
arms, drugs, prostitution ring smashed The network allegedly forced
eastern European women into prostitution in Italian
Group Uses 'Street Units' to Protect Victims of Sex Trafficking TAMPEP's approach is to send out unita di strada
(street units) that include 'cultural mediators' from the same background as
the trafficked women and girls. The units seek out likely victims of
trafficking, like Jessica, and offer them health education and testing. Once
inside the privacy of a health clinic, social workers set out the woman's
rights and options. Sex
Traffickers Prey On Eastern Europeans Maria says her nightmare began
after she and the other women arrived in Trafficked
Women in Italy Retain Faith Despite Exploitation Women smuggled into Italy and
forced to work as prostitutes experience a "nightmare" of exploitation
and abuse that leave them intensely traumatized, said an Italian nun who
heads an anti-trafficking initiative.
Almost 90 percent of the African women forced into prostitution in 6,000 children smuggled to the west each year for sex www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/jul/12/internationalcrime Researchers have identified
north-eastern Italy as a key sorting centre for girls from eastern Europe who
are either sold by their parents, kidnapped by organised
crime gangs, or lured abroad by the mirage of a better life. There is a particularly high
concentration of juvenile sex slaves in the area between Padua and Venice,
with 20% of prostitutes under the age of 18, compared to 5% in other Italian
cities, the charity said. Last year
250 girls managed to escape from their exploiters and seek assistance from
the Italian state. Research based on case studies of victims of trafficking in human beings in 3 EU Member States, i.e. Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands [PDF] www.ontheroadonlus.it/rootdown/RapIppocra.pdf At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - This project was carried out in
General recommendations are
provided in 14 clusters. However, in each country report, the researchers
offer an assessment of national laws and policies on THB as well as their
assistance programs. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 2 Status: Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide Italy,
Nigeria Take Action against Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation The main objective of the programme is to contribute to the formulation and
implementation of effective policies in the field of criminal justice and
social prevention to curb human trafficking practices. The project focuses
particularly on improving judicial cooperation between the Nigerian and the
Italian Government, on strengthening Nigerian law enforcement, prosecution
and criminal justice agencies involved in counter trafficking, and also on
awareness raising activities, both in Nigeria and Italy, in order to protect
the victims of such crimes. Albania Mourns Smuggling Victims see.oneworld.net/article/view/76719/1/ At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] Reining
in Child Trafficking in the New EU In this underworld of human trade,
children are trafficked for prostitution, domestic services, and begging, as
well as for work at construction sites, markets, small shops, and factories.
Hidden from sight and beyond the reach of the law, these children are sexually
abused, exposed to hazardous working conditions, confined to their workplace,
and denied education, basic health care, adequate nutrition, and the safety
and security of their families and communities. Treated like slaves,
countless numbers are exposed to health risks, such as HIV/AIDS and other
sexually transmitted diseases. The particular physical, psychological, and
psychosocial harm suffered by trafficked children in these situations, as
well as their special vulnerability to exploitation, require that they be
dealt with separately from adult trafficked persons in terms of laws,
policies, programs, and interventions. New danger for
Italy's foreign prostitutes THREATS - "On 4 October 2002 a man
brought me from Romania to Italy," says Helena, a slight 17-year-old,
with an empty expression and bruises on her arms and chest which she tries to
cover as she talks to me. "He told
me I had a job as a cleaner but he shut me in a house and took my
passport. "Then he and others
beat me and raped me until I agreed to work on the streets. They said if I
didn't do it they would kill my family." Mercy escaped her slavers last
year. Like many Nigerian women smuggled or lured into Italy with the promise
of jobs, Mercy was forced into prostitution to earn her freedom. But escape
did not end her nightmare. Three weeks after speaking publicly to human
rights groups about her experience, her sister was reported dead in Florence,
true to the threats made by her former captors. Some pay to be smuggled into
Europe, but end up as victims. In one smuggling run to Italy via Morocco,
seventeen Nigerian girls died when their boat capsized on the Mediterranean
Sea. Forty died after reaching their destination in Italy: brothels where
women and girls are forced to pay off a $50,000 debt by servicing a dozen men
per night. Trafficking
in Women to Italy for Sexual Exploitation EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - The study describes how women are
trafficked to Italy for sexual exploitation. The ways in which these women
were recruited and transported to Italy, and the methods which are used to
control and exploit them are discussed. The role played by traffickers is
examined. Slavery & Slave Trade In The African Union www.africanfront.com/humanrights/humanrights6.php At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] TRAFFICKING NIGHTMARE FOR NIGERIAN
CHILDREN - The
children's ordeal begins in All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
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Human Trafficking in [Italy Street Children in [Italy] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Italy] [other countries]