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Human trafficking through the central Mediterranean route: data, stories and information collected by the International Organization for Migration

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INTRODUCTION

Human trafficking is a transnational crime that is defined in Article 3 of the “Additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Human Trafficking, in particular Trafficking Involving Women and Children”. According to the definition, human trafficking shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

At European level, trafficking in human beings is defined by the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. The European Union has issued two directives on trafficking in human beings, the Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004, on the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings, or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities, and the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 5 April 2011, on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council’s Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA.

In Italy, the offense of human trafficking is defined by Article 601 of the Criminal Code , as recently amended by Legislative Decree 24/2014 , as part of the transposition of the EC Directive 2011/36/EU. Article 18 of the Consolidated Act on Immigration and Article 27 of Implementing Regulation govern the procedures for issuing a residence permit “for social protection” to a foreigner whose safety is at risk due to attempts to escape a criminal organization committing crimes such as forced prostitution, child exploitation, begging, enslavement and human trafficking punishable by mandatory arrest in flagrante delicto, pursuant to Article 380 of the Criminal Code, or as a result of statements provided during preliminary investigations or trial procedures.

Given the complexity and nature of this phenomenon, it is extremely difficult to provide precise data on victims of human trafficking at a global level. More precise data relate to cases reported or identified, which only represent a small part of this phenomenon. Since 2002, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) records cases of human victims of trafficking assisted by the Organization; approximately 7,000 each year. The world dataset includes 46,000 registered cases involving individuals from 140 nationalities, identified in 150 destination countries.UNODC estimates that 51 per cent of total number of victims of trafficking in the world are women, while men account for 21 per cent and under-age victims 28 per cent. If the victims are women, exploitation is primarily sexual (in 72% of cases), followed by labour exploitation (in 20% of cases) and other forms of exploitation (in 8% of cases). Men are more affected by labour exploitation (85.7% of cases) than sexual exploitation (6.8% of cases).

IOM carries out worldwide support activities for governments in the fight against human trafficking and provides direct assistance to victims, both in the countries of destination and those of transit and origin. In 2016, IOM assisted 768 victims of trafficking in the European Union, Switzerland and Norway, including 390 women, 116 men and 262 children. Most assisted victims were of Nigerian nationality (59%), followed by Bulgaria (11%), Romania (8%), Hungary (3%) and Thailand (2%).

In Italy, IOM is present at landing sites, hotspots and reception centres of the main landing areas and has been able, as specialized counter trafficking actor in the field of legal information and assistance, to monitor and record the growing number of victims of trafficking among migrants and those who seek international protection arriving by sea along Italian coasts.

This report aims to provide information gathered during the provision of legal information to arriving migrants, screening for vulnerability and identification of victims of trafficking and assistance/referral activities of identified victims in Italy. In this way, the report intends to contribute to formulating policies and developing initiatives to assist victims of trafficking and prevent and combat human trafficking phenomenon.

The report focuses on the arriving by sea of victims of trafficking (in particular from Nigeria), whose data was collected by IOM’s personnel in the field by direct contact with victims of trafficking.
The report describes: the phenomenon of human trafficking solely for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Italy; IOM activities relating to the fight against this phenomenon; difficulties regarding the safeguarding and protection of victims of trafficking in Italy; and, main vulnerabilities/risk indicators identified through assisted cases in the framework of IOM’s assistance programmes. These subjects are also illustrated through the selected stories of some of the victims identified by IOM front line staff in the course of 2016.

The stories of these girls and women (whose names have been changed for safety reasons) have been chosen among the many accounts collected in order to help raise awareness of trafficking and exploitation, and to understand a painful phenomenon that involves many adults and children, and which appears to be drastically growing. Even though they are very dramatic stories, they are part of a reality that IOM feels necessary to share with authorities, politicians, professionals, service providers, volunteers, and all actors involved in fighting human trafficking, as well as in the assistance, protection, prevention and prosecution repression thereof, also for the purpose of a stronger joint coordinated response to the phenomenon.

Finally, we believe that giving voice to the victims of this crime who have found the strength to fight back will provide courage to those who find themselves in the same dramatic condition, as well as to those who work every day to support and assist victims.