There is a growing number of women that are arriving to the European Union through various immigration channels, whether legal or not, to be sexually exploited. It is appropriate, from the outset, to make a clarification: by “legal immigration channel” it is meant arriving in the EU with a visa (for example, for tourist purposes) that will be promptly made to expire as the person passes into illegality on the territory of the destination country. It happens that travel to Europe is organized by traffickers from the very beginning, meaning from the country of origin. In point of fact, trafficking develops internationally. The example of women who ended up being trafficked from Nigeria is the most glaring one, but data show how this obscene practice is expanding: as a matter of fact, there is an increasing number of arrivals of women from other African countries as well, such as the Ivory Coast. It appears necessary to shed a light on how sex trafficking of women works in order to have a better comprehension concerning what are the steps that could be fundamental in order to stop this horrible practice. In doing so, an attempt is made in identifying solutions that the international community must urgently adopt with the aim of tackling such a crime.
Sex trafficking is a human rights issue, a manifestation of ongoing gender inequality, and a problem that affects women all over the world. It is not just a problem of crime or migration. Women and children with poor socioeconomic conditions are those individuals who are the most targeted by traffickers. Discrimination against women in education, employment, and salaries can leave them with very few possibilities for providing for themselves and their family in locations where poverty has already constrained people’s options. For many of these women, migration through official means is not an option. They are more susceptible to the deceptive claims of high-paying occupations made by traffickers because they have dreams of a better life in the city or in a foreign nation. Although women could feel uneasy about the travel conditions, their hope for a new life and their desperation over their current prospects might quickly surpass any feeling of risk. This is how poverty and gender disparity produce a sizable pool of willing and potentially useful “recruits” (1). An attempt in understating how women’s trafficking for sexual exploitation purposes works is made.
As mentioned, the traffic network is developed internationally. In fact, channels for such a practice already exist in the country of origin. When the person belonging to a smuggling network identifies the victim, usually a woman who is socioeconomically disadvantaged and looking for a way to a better life, the trafficker makes contact with the victim. The smuggler approaches the victim by expressing the possibility of helping such person in need in her desire to find a better life by prospecting her with the opportunity to migrate abroad and the possibility of reaching Europe. Moreover, the traffickers delineate the opportunity as well of being able to contribute on a practical level in the realization of the migration journey, promising to take care of every detail; in particular the “travel paperwork”(costs, passport, visa, etc.). The victim easily trusts the trafficker thus allowing herself to be transported without resistance within the trafficking network. In such circumstances, popular beliefs often come into play: as a matter of fact, the victim is somehow obliged to swear an oath to the trafficker on pain of unleashing curses against the victim’s family of origin as happens, for example, with the practice of the “juju” ritual made to women of Nigerian origin (2). The price, therefore, is very high, not only economically but also spiritually. Indeed, the promise of economic help in order to sustain the journey to Europe made by the trafficker is never without some form of restitution. In point of fact, the victim, by accepting the trafficker’s insincere help, forever binds herself in having to repay it with all the money made necessary to face the journey, with interest and irreversible physical and psychological damage. As a matter of fact, returning to the example of juju ritual, such a practice consists of rituals where women have their pubic hair and hair pulled out and are branded on their skin.
With the starting of the migratory route, people leave their home countries not knowing what really awaits them. The journey often takes months and is made under dangerous conditions: the means of transportation are precarious (e.g., people arriving by sea on the Italian and Greek coasts via improvised boats that are unsafe and overcrowded). Assuming that people manage to survive the migratory route and reach Europe, once they arrive in the EU, the unknowing nightmare of trafficking continues. In point of facts, the victims begin to realize that the promised better life is not real, as the trafficking network is well established even in the destination countries. The trafficked person, in fact, is forced into prostitution and to repay with the money received the trafficker. This coercion goes on for years, years in which the person often stays irregularly on the territory of the country of destination.
But what can the European Union do to counter the phenomenon of human trafficking for sexual exploitation? Restrictive policies put in place by many EU member States are not the answer, as they only fuel legislative flaws that contribute to making victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation irregular and unprotected. EU institutions, in particular the Commission, should adopt an effective regulation aimed at implementing a more effective system against trafficking for sexual exploitation. Specifically, the EU should give more funds to its member States, especially those with external borders, so as to strengthen the personnel in charge of reception projects for non-EU persons (3). This would somewhat prevent a continuation of the trafficking network even within the EU’s borders as more attention would be given to vulnerable women. In addition, the moment traffickers are identified by the competent authorities, they should be immediately convicted, deported, and reported to the authorities of the countries of origin, despite the fact that cooperation is often difficult. By virtue of this, the EU should strengthen relations with the countries from which people who end up in the trafficking network depart. It has to be remembered that we are talking about vulnerable people and that all the countries in the world are held to respect the international protection instruments adopted and signed by them.
References:
- https://www.oas.org/en/cim/docs/Trafficking-Paper%5BEN%5D.pdf
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14044205
- https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/italy/reception-conditions/short-overview-italian-reception-system/
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
