One in four victims of trafficking in human beings in Europe is a minor. This is what emerges from the ‘Little invisible slaves’ report, released by Save the Children in view of the International Day against Trafficking in Human Beings, which denounces an increase in young Ivorian women among high-risk victims in our country and the growing phenomenon of indoor and online sexual exploitation.
In Italy, 1,911 cases emerged and assisted in 2021 by the anti-trafficking system (with 706 new taken care of during the year), mostly female (75.6%), while minors represented 3 , 3% of the total. Among the victims assisted, the prevalent form of exploitation is sexual exploitation (48.9%), followed by labor exploitation (18.8%).
Among the countries of origin of the victims, Nigeria (65.6%) prevails, followed by Pakistan (4.5%), Morocco (2.6%), and, among others, Gambia (2.5%) and Ivory Coast (2.3%), which, although still in small percentage numbers, is notable for a growing trend in recent years. In fact, 4.6% of the 130 women and girls with minor children (161) who are assisted by the Italian anti-trafficking system as of 8 June 2022 are of Ivorian origin. and often the extreme blackmail that leverage their condition as particularly vulnerable mothers.
The prevailing age group (45.4%) is between 18 and 25, but there are also those under the age of 17.
According to the report, human trafficking in Europe generates 29.4 billion euros in profits in one year. The exploiters’ new weapons for recruiting potential victims include online chats, social media, online employment agencies, counterfeit immigration assistance websites, dark web forums and payment for services via cryptocurrencies.
In Europe, where trafficking in human beings is estimated to produce 29.4 billion euros in profits in one year, a good quarter of only 14,000 cases identified concern underage victims, largely trapped in the exploitation of prostitution (64%).
Source: Ansa
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