The United Nations has raised alarm over the shocking number of Nigerians being trafficked to Italy for prostitution.
The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) has revealed that more that 80% of Nigerian women in Italy are into prostitution.
The report reveals that 3,600 Nigerian women arrived Italy by boat in the first half of 2016, almost double the figure in the same period last year. Most were trafficked into the country for prostitution.
“What we have seen this year is a crisis, it is absolutely unprecedented and is the most significant increase in the number of Nigerian women arriving in Italy for 10 years,” said Simona Moscarelli, an anti-trafficking expert at the IOM.
Moscarelli revealed that most of the Nigerian women trafficked into the country are used for sexual exploited. She added that the criminal gangs and trafficking networks engaging in the sexual exploitation of younger Nigerian girls had expanded.
It is a known fact that a thriving s*x trafficking industry between Nigeria and Italy has been operating for many decades, however, there has been an increase in the number of Nigerians arriving the country in recent times, the report said.
Most Nigerian women who arrived in Italy are already victims of trafficking, many have been subjected to serious sexual exploitation in Libya, she said. She described their condition as worse, adding; “They are really treated like slaves.”
It has been revealed that the Nigerian trafficking gangs use a toxic mix of false promises of legitimate employment and traditional “juju” ceremonies to recruit and gain psychological control over their victims.