Trafficking In Italy

Italy is a Tier 1 source, transit, and destination country. Men, women, and children are trafficked into forced labor and sexual exploitation. Organized crime groups such as the Albanians and Romanians are involved with all aspects of crime including human trafficking. Nigerian women and girls are trafficked into Italy through coercive methods such as debt bondage and even voodoo rituals to gain compliance. An estimated 3,000 children are active in street prostitution. Men from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe are trafficked into forced labor in agricultural, construction, domestic service, hotels, and restaurants through debt bondage to the smugglers. Chinese men and women are sold into textile factories where there is little chance for assimilation
The Department of Equal Opportunity is responsible for coordinated protection efforts. It released reports that government funded NGOs assisted 800 victims in 2015, yet the exact number is not independently verified. The government invested $7.35 million in victim’s assistance programs, including an additional $1,870,00 from local governments. The government relies heavily on NGOs to provide shelter and assistance to victims of trafficking, but a lack of funding and formal referral continues to be problematic. It is especially apparent in reception areas where services become overwhelmed thereby leading to increased vulnerability to those who are unable to receive shelter. Temporary residency is available to adults for six months which can be renewed upon employment or enrollment in job training. Child victims received residency until the age eighteen and accommodation in specialized children’s centers. Per 2015 government reports, Italy issued 324 temporary residency permits to victims of trafficking. While authorities did not require victims to testify against their captors to gain residency permits, it did give preferential treatment to those who did. Due to Italy’s inadequate identification process, the number of victims who chose to collaborate with the prosecution of their traffickers is unclear. Consequently, many of the trafficking victims are incorrectly identified as either migrants of asylum
Although it did adopt a national action plan in 2016, it neither funded nor implemented it. Among the limitations cited, the lack of a coordinated identification system continues to hamper much of its efforts to combat trafficking. The government lacks independent oversight into the evaluation of its anti-trafficking efforts. It employs no public awareness campaigns, but the local authorities are heavily involved in educating its townspeople. Through the distribution of pamphlets, brochures, bumper stickers, and public announcements, local municipalities desperately try to educate its people about the dangers of trafficking. Local municipalities likewise support NGOs in educational campaigns and efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex. Subsequently, the central government instituted a hotline for victims of trafficking, reporting 3,600 calls received in 2015. Yet it did not intervene or aid in decreasing the demand for child sex or forced labor. However, it did provide anti-trafficking training to its military prior to deployment and its diplomatic