(Many are raped, beaten, and psychologically abused by members of the Nigerian mafia that controls the sex trade)
A record number of women from
Nigeria have arrived in Italy over the
past year, and experts fear they are
the victims of the growing illegal sex
trade in Europe. More than 1,200 Nigerian women
arrived in Italy by boat in 2014,
compared to just 300 the previous
year, according to a new report by the
International Organisation for
Migration.
Prostitution Evidence gathered in Nigeria by Sister Eugenia Bonetti, who has been internationally recognised as a driving
force in the fight against human
trafficking, suggests one-in-three
women in Benin City, Nigeria, have
been approached by local traffickers
who promise them non-existent jobs if they go to Europe. Many of the women who agree are
then raped, beaten, and
psychologically abused by members of
the Nigerian mafia that control the
trade. The use of systematic violence
throughout the women's journey is aimed at preparing them for intensive
exploitation once in Europe. A study conducted by the Italian NGO
Be Free, which supports victims of
trafficking and gender-based
violence, found that in 2011 there
were 30,000 Nigerian women who
had been forced into prostitution. Many feel unable to leave under
pressure from the debt incurred
during their trip - which can run as
high as 65,000 euros ($74,000),
according to Francesca De Masi, who
co-authored the Be Free report. "We documented the existence of
brothels in Libya run by the Nigerian
mafia where many of the women
were initiated into the trade," said De
Masi, who has also co-authored a book
on the trafficking of Nigerian women to Italy. "They were forced to work in
these places for even up to [a] year,
often without any contraception.
Some of the women told us they
inserted wool from their mattresses
inside their genitals, hoping it could in some way protect them." In early 2014, IOM launched a new
anti-trafficking operation to help
women escape from the cycle of
exploitation. "Upon their arrival to Italy, our teams
approach them and inform them of
their rights before they can be
reached by traffickers," said Di
Giacomo. In Nigeria, recruiters from criminal
syndicates often pose as benefactors
offering to front the money for the
women's trip. The women are then
often taken to a witch doctor, who
performs a voodoo ceremony in which the women vow to repay the sum -
and are told that if they fail to do so,
they will die or become insane. "Their belief in the power of the rite
is so entrenched that often after
pressing charges against their
exploiters, many of them experience
an acute feeling of suffocation," De
Masi said.
"In the absence of the rule of law,
smugglers and traffickers alike
operate virtually undisturbed. Harbour
towns like Zuwarah have become
virtually a highway into Italy," said Di
Giacomo. Under Italian law, victims of sex
trafficking can be granted residency
in order to access the state-run
welfare system. But analysts warn too many of these
women fall through the cracks of a
system geared towards controlling
migration, with a disproportionate
number living in Italy in a state of
near slavery. "I slept on a mattress on the floor of
the brothel and was allowed out only
to prostitute myself," said Blessing
Johnson, 26, who asked that her real
name not be used for fear of reprisals
against her family back home by the Nigerian mafia. "If I broke any of the rules, Queen [the
madam of the brothel] would beat me
with a broken glass bottle," added
Johnson, who has a big scar across
one of her feet, which she said was
the result of an attack. Johnson said she worked in Queen's
brothel for five years, from 2007 to
2012. Every night she was required to
bring back 120 euros ($140), which
required an average of six clients or
more per day. Only part of this money went towards repaying her debt. "The madams also charge them for
food and accommodation as well as
renting the sidewalk" where they
work, said De Masi, which she
explained is managed by madams or
other members of Nigerian criminal gangs. Exploiting the vulnerable Johnson said she met Queen for the
first time in 2006 in her hometown of
Benin City. Her father had recently
passed away and her family had a
small income. A neighbour introduced
the then 18-year-old Johnson to Queen, who fronted her the money to
take her to Italy, and who reassured
Johnson she would be able to quickly
repay the sum. "She told me I owed her 35,000 euros
[$39,700]," said Johnson. "I had no
idea what that even meant." Johnson escaped from the brothel, but
her asylum claim was rejected and she
was deported to Nigeria, where
Queen's gangsters were waiting for
her. "They said they wanted the rest
of the money. I was afraid they would kill me," said Johnson. In June, after several threats from the
Nigerian mafia, she fled back to Italy. Upon her arrival she was detained at
the Ponte Galeria detention centre,
because authorities suspected her of
being an economic migrant. "We have been able to stop her
deportation to Nigeria and apply for
her to enter [Italy's] victim protection
scheme, but a growing number of
women like Blessing are being
wrongly identified," said De Masi, who with Carla Quinto, a lawyer from Be
Free, is working on Johnson's case. Budget cuts In 1998, Italy passed into law Article
18, which grants residence permits to
victims of human trafficking. But the
intense psychological manipulation
and physical abuse to which the
women are subjected during their journey often dissuades them from
trying to obtain a residence permit
when they reach Italy. The Italian government's Equal
Opportunities Office has said
protecting victims of trafficking
remains one of its top priorities, but it
is struggling to cope with the increase
of arrivals amid recent budget cuts. "Over the past 14 years, our network
has allowed over 24,000 victims to
exit prostitution," said Corrado de
Rosa, a spokesperson for the
department. "However, our victim
protection schemes have recently encountered some setbacks due to a
reduction of the available funds." Be Free and other NGOs say the
government's stricter migration
policies are also to blame, because
they place undue pressure on the
women. "We had to set up a victim support
programme inside a detention centre,
as many of women trafficked into
Italy end up there," said De Masi. "Why
should we have to do this when there
is a law that protects them?"
Source:Aljazeera