Thomson Reuters Foundation has published
"Princess, a life helping victims of sex
trafficking" a project where brave Nigerian
human trafficking survivors, mostly from Edo
State, shared their lives, stories and how they
are helping each other. This is part of of a
special series "Links in the trafficking chain, a
collection of investigative stories to shine a
light on some of the perpetrators of trafficking.
In this series, photojournalist Quintina Valero’s
images focus on these Nigerian women who
have been trafficked into sex slavery in Italy
after crossing North Africa and the
Mediterranean.
Most of the women are from Benin City in
Nigeria’s southern Edo State. Traffickers often
enslave their victims with crippling debts,
threats of violence and “juju” rituals that bind
them to their pimps through fear.
The main agents of this crime are women,
"madams" who are themselves often former
sex slaves. They recruit girls from friends or
family members.
They deal with the traffickers
who provide travel document and transport and
arrange contact with other madams in Italy.XX
Princess arrived in Italy in 1999, forced into
prostitution to pay off a 45,000 euro ($50,000)
debt to the smugglers who arranged her journey
there. A priest and an Italian man who would
later become her husband helped her clear her
debts, after eight months in Turin. She went on
to set up a charity to help rescued survivors like
herself.
After securing asylum and getting a residence
permit, Princess decided to stay in Italy and,
with her husband, help other victims of
trafficking break out of the sex trade. In this
photo, a Nigerian woman who works as a
prostitute on the outskirts of Asti city receives
condoms from Princess. Princess informs sex
workers of their rights and tells them about
protection programmes available to them.
Many sex slaves do not denounce their
traffickers as they fear something terrible will
happen to them or their families. Princess and
Alberto work with police and border authorities
to identify victims of trafficking as soon as they
arrive in Italy. They place the girls in
apartments that they share between four or five
girls or with Nigerian families. Survivors who
denounce their traffickers are given residence
permits and their families back in Nigeria are
also protected.
In 1999, Princess founded PIAM Onlus with her
husband to help trafficked women and those
trapped in prostitution. These days, asylum
seekers and victims of sex trafficking are
entered into the SPAAR programme (System for
the Protection of Asylum Seekers and
Refugees) set up by the Italian government in
2002.
This allows them to get accommodation,
food, work, education and help integrating into
Italian society.
trafficking survivors who live in the city.
Princess gathers with other Nigerian women
after a Pentecostal church service in Asti.
Though most Nigerians are Christians, animist
religious practices remain a powerful tool for
traffickers who threaten victims with “juju”
rituals to ensure their silence.
“madam” gave her $10,000 for her journey to
Libya via Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and
the Sahara Desert.
Fatou and Patience live in a shelter for
trafficked women in Asti. 90 percent of women
trafficked to Italy come from Edo State in
southern Nigeria, but there is a rise in young
girls from Gambia like Fatou.
celebrates her birthday with friends at her
home in Asti. Source: Nigerian trafficking
survivors in Italy help each other.
years in Libya, before her trafficker arranged
her trip to Italy in 2014.
Precious entered a protection programme after
fleeing Nigerian criminals who used a machete
to interrogate her about her boyfriend's
disappearance. Her boyfriend was apparently
involved in the sex trafficking business.
trafficking, entered Italy’s protection
programme and now sews Nigerian dresses for
other women in the community.
vocational training at an Italian restaurant.
chocolate factory in Asti. She has been granted
a two-year residence permit.
#kingdom#inspiration
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