Consider This…Take Counsel…Speak Out:

A Consultation Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation 

Sponsored by the

Lutheran World Federation / North American Region

Winnipeg

November 3-5, 2006 

  

The Strength of Networking

Between Countries of Origin and Destination

By Eugenia Bonetti, MC 

USMI

Italian Union of Major Superiors

Via Zanardelli, 32

00186 Rome, Italy

Tel. (39) 06‑68-400-555, Fax (39) 06‑68-801-935

Cell (39) 339-193-4538

 migrantes.usmi‑n@pcn.net

ebonettimc@pcn.net

 

Introduction: The Phenomenon of Sexual Exploitation

We are all aware that forced prostitution of hundreds of thousands of young women has become a thriving business, entangling countless countries in its web in some way: as countries of origin, of transit and/or destination. The June 2006 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report indicates that four million women worldwide have been trafficked for payable sex. There are many factors that spur women to leave their countries and their families for some “promised land,” in search of prosperity and a better life. Italy is no exception, with 50,000 – 70,000 immigrant women enslaved and working in the sex market, mainly on our city streets.

Among the factors we can catalogue are: the extreme poverty of many women and their desire for emancipation and evasion from a situation of submission and inferiority. For this, they risk everything--their life, dignity and identity--to enter a European country and lifestyle. Our mass media presents this “promised land” to them, and this is the dream that so many young women carry in their hearts. Many know the dangers they might encounter in coming to Europe and seeking fortune, but since local opportunities are non-existent, they accept the risk in the hope of getting out of it unharmed, and later of helping their families.

Minimum--or total lack of--schooling and work opportunities are also factors that often lead women down the road to sexual exploitation, especially for African women. Further, the few examples of African women returning home with riches--which they proudly display--are a strong motivator for many to imitate such an adventure.

Additionally, many young African women--as well as those from Eastern Europe--carry heavy family economic burdens, thus easily becoming prey of traffickers and exploiters. Most are nearly illiterate, therefore, further vulnerable and easily enticed. Many such young women, working in dehumanised conditions on the streets of our cities and country-sides, come from Nigeria and from Eastern European countries.

In Nigeria

There are differences between African and Eastern European countries in the way the trade is run. The management of the exploitation of Nigerian woman is still in the hands of women, who lure the young victims in their country of origin, and control them once they reach the country of destination. Men, instead, usually oversee delivery, transporting the “goods” from one country to another.

We know the new routes and the huge risks involved in the journey through the Sahara Desert, with unwanted pregnancies, children born along the way without documents, sea crossings on unsafe boats, with landings on the coast of Spain, and a final destination in Italy or in other European countries.

In Nigeria, traffickers still use powerful “voodoo” rites, which exercise a real psychological violence on the victims. These rites aim to ensure that the 60.000 - 70.000 euro contracted debt with the criminal organisation to come to Europe/Italy will be paid. Traffickers in Eastern Europe exercise other forms of power, mainly manipulating emotions and applying physical violence.

In Romania

At present, Romania is one of the Eastern countries at high risk for the importation of young women. The market of these young women is in the hands of small Romanian and Albanian crime gangs who buy and sell their victims. Forty to 50% victims are minors. Young Romanians can easily be “recycled” or “substituted” on the streets, especially after the famous “police patrol” to sweep the streets clean and to send back the girls to their country. Entering Italy is not all difficult; there are organised journeys by minibus every week, and many act as coverage for this market.

In my recent visits to Romania, besides abject poverty, still very visible in the rural countries—now inhabited 0nly by children and elderly people, as young people have fled—I have observed two interesting realities worthy of mention.

 The first is the presence of thousands of small Italian  entrepreneurs looking for investments in Romania, where labour is quite cheap. These Italians commute between Monday and Friday--many of them with a wife and children in Italy, and a woman in Romania for pleasure.

The second is that in Romania there are still several large institutions for abandoned children, or children from poor families, called “Camin”. At the age of 18, the girls from these institutions are more or less forced out of the homes, into the streets, with the hope that they will reunite with their families (which the majority of them have never known). Once on their own, the net of the traffickers easily snags many of these inexperienced and vulnerable girls, drifting without family or support. This practice has created a pressing emergency for the few NGO’s working in the territory, as well as for faith-based organisations and women religious who are becoming aware of it.

Some Considerations and Proposals:

Development

Our efforts toward rehabilitation and integration of victims will be of no avail unless we network with various NGO’s in countries of origin by investing in preventive measures, and offering education and work opportunities to young people who will continue to have no hope for a better life and future otherwise.

Pressure on Governments

It is critical to exercise pressure on governments so that they may not only pass adequate laws against the traffickers and exploiters – knowing that the U.S. Department of State annual Trafficking in Persons Report may identify their country’s status – but also to ensure that the laws are adequately applied and enforced. In July 2003, Nigeria approved a law that punishes human traffickers with life imprisonment, but in reality, the authorities never arrest, sentence or condemn these lords and madams. It is a well-known fact that the exploiters still practise corruption and retaliations on the family members of those who dare to denounce them.

The Problem of Families in the Motherland

I am not aware how many—if any—of the families in Nigeria are involved and/or have knowledge of what their daughters are going to do in Italy, since all the young girls feel ashamed in revealing what they do in the streets. Why do they not want their families to know what they do? Simply because no one wants to be identified as a prostitute.

Protection of the Families

One exigency that has emerged from the denunciations made by many young women is the security and protection of their families in the country of origin. Due to the collaboration of the sisters in Benin City, Edo State - from where 90% of the victims come - working with two motivated and professional lawyers, we succeeded in tracing the families, sensitizing them to the problem and assisting  them in testifying against the traffickers and the maman. This is a critical work, and extremely risky. At first, nobody in the family admits knowing the person concerned (a.k.a. victim), later they go to the nuns’ office, asking for more information and eventually revealing the whole truth. These family members, too, are full of fear because they know that the traffickers are powerful and that they can succeed in corrupting, with money, even the Anti-Trafficking Unit Officers, placed in Benin City to address this pressing issue.

The Denunciation of the Exploiters

All the young women are horrified at the thought of having to denounce their traffickers, but this opens channels for them to obtain the benefits of Italian legislation. The victims know enough about the risks their families-- and they personally-- are going to run. Typically, the Nigerian victims quickly say that they do not have exploiters and that they have come to Italy on their own accord. The young women from Eastern Europe, in contrast, seem to share love and consent with their exploiters due to a percentage of the proceeds they take. Many times the exploiters are members of the family, and this makes the case of denunciation more delicate and painful--oftentimes making it impossible. In these cases, the only solution is for a victim to apply for social protection, which is usually done by an NGO without denunciation, obtaining legal documents under Article 18/284[1].

The Expulsion

Here we find ourselves facing true tragedies, because the law enforcement police arbitrarily interpret recent legislation for immigrants--the Bossi-Fini Law--at the expense of the weakest and most defenceless of them. We know that when police officers arrest young women, they give false names and personal details, in the hope of not being identified and forcibly repatriated. None of them want to be sent home, empty-handed and their flight to the “promised land” branded with the stigma of failure. This is also a considerable obstacle against our projects of social reintegration with victims, as the retro-active expulsions have a juridical value and it is always more difficult to have them cancelled. The numerous forced expulsions of young women are a serious problem.

The Temporary Detention Centre (TDC)

In Italy, there are 14 TDCs for immigrants who are found without a legal permit to stay and work. In these Centres, time limits for incarceration range from a few days to a maximum of 60. During this period, the case of each individual must be evaluated to determine if she/he can be released or repatriated.

Repatriations

Mass repatriations are of no use if we do not/can not offer the victims opportunities and programmes of reintegration and formation once they are back in their country. The young women from the East come and go quite easily. Many of them also end up cycling through the Temporary Detention Centre in Rome several times. For the Nigerian women the process of repatriation is always a drama. They know they will likely face the humiliation of a refusal by their families and the society.

Lawyers

We have a critical need for an association of volunteer lawyers to help us understand certain situations, to persist when human rights are not protected or are being abused. This would be very important not only in countries of destination, but also in the countries of origin in order to defend and protect the families against retaliations.

Sheltering Centres in Nigeria

In Nigeria, there are structures offering assistance, supported financially by government entities from some countries of destination and managed by NGOs, where victims could go and receive help once they repatriate. Unfortunately, we see how the victims no longer have any trust in government institutions (as well as in some NGOs), while they still hold respect and appreciation for faith-based organizations, though at times these organisations have no grant-in-aid or structures. To achieve this end, NGO’s and faith-based organisations must work in communion, and not in competition. Together there is much we could do, but we must shed our securities and our prestige to develop a common objective - helping women in difficulty.

The Experience in Bucharest for the Girls of the “Camin”

There is a pressing need to assist the Romanian girls who must leave the government institutions called “Camin” once they turn 18 years old. This is a pending emergency, which some faith-based organization and women religious in Romania have recently begun to pay attention to. The Orthodox Church is quite active in this regard. The sisters of Charity of St. Giovanna Antida in Bucharest, too, have been involved in this sector for the past eight years. They encounter young girls, sheltering in public parks, and invite them to stay in small apartments, where they can be helped psychologically and socially, relocating their families and looking for work. They remove these young women from the danger of falling into the hands of traffickers and, consequently, from being “used” in the streets. We hope that other Congregations, parishes and NGOs will come forth to face this new emergency, though we are aware of the need for sufficient structures and funds in order to provide adequate service.

Our greatest strength and key to success in this ministry to victims of trafficking is to join our efforts and network. The following initiatives carried out by inter-congregations are worth mentioning:

v     Anti-Trafficking Educational Kit for religious communities, seminaries, schools, parishes and youth groups, available in six languages - English, Italian, Spanish, French, Polish, and Romanian - has been prepared by a working group on Counter-Trafficking in Women and Children of the JPIC Commission of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG/USG). Versions in Portuguese, German and Albanian are also in the process of being printed;

v     Weekly Visits by a group of 14 nuns - from 11 congregations and of 8 different nationalities - to one of the 14 Temporary Detention Centres in Rome, for the pastoral care of 180 women awaiting forced expatriation, after being detained for 60 days because they were found with no documents[2];

v     A Training Programme for Women Religious was carried out in 2004 - 2006 in various countries touched by the phenomenon of trafficking in persons: Italy, Nigeria, Albania, Romania, Poland, Thailand, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, the Philippines and Portugal. The trainings were proposed by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, financed by the U.S. Department of State and carried out by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with UISG and USMI.[3]

Seeing the positive result and participation of many religious communities, we hope that such courses of professional preparation can be extended to more countries of origin, transit and destination, informing and sensitising people on this pressing issue, to the end of supplying adequate resources and solutions to a world in need of hope and justice.

Conclusion:  The Strength of Networking

In dealing with this modern phenomenon, faith-based organisations and religious communities of men and women must become aware of their great richness and strength in being present in all corners of the globe. They are already working in parishes, in schools and with youth groups, in daily contact with families and youth who are at risk of being trafficked. Their service towards potential victims can play an important role by informing them about the risk of being trapped into the many forms of modern-day slavery. Additionally, we are all called to form and educate men and women about their human dignity and responsibility -- not only with the aim of preventing young women from being deceived by traffickers, but also to stop the young men from creating the “demand”.

There is a great need to work together with all means available in countries of origin, transit and destination. Our greatest desire is for an enhanced collaboration among the various faith-based organisations addressing this issue. By being in communion, and not in competition, allowing each group to offer the richness of their specific role and experience, we can defeat the trafficking of human beings.

“Together, it will be possible”.

Thank you for your attention.

Sr. Eugenia Bonetti

Counter – Trafficking Office

USMI National

Rome, Italy

Section II

A Practical Experience: The Response of the Italian Legislation

Protection and rehabilitation of the victims of human trafficking is implemented in Italy through the issuing of a special residence permit for the purpose of social protection under “Article 18 of a Legislative Immigration Decree no. 286, dated July 25 of 1998”. With this legislation, Italy is a pioneer among European countries, creating a program to issue a residence permit aimed at recognizing and supporting the needs of victims, as well as cracking down on trafficking and traffickers. The history of this law which provides the legal status for victims to stay and work in Italy is as follows:

·        The Context of the “New Slave Trade” in Italy

At the beginning of the 1980s, following ongoing economic difficulties in developing countries, thousands of women came to Europe in search of work and a better quality of life. Illegal, poor and vulnerable, many became the prey of international and trans-national criminal organisations linked to the sex industry. Italy was not exempt from this phenomenon; in fact, very quickly Italy became a country of “transit” and “destination” for thousands of young women bought and sold as mere commodities.

The phenomenon of immigrant women from developing countries “imported” to Italy for the sex industry began in force in the early ‘90s. Since then the number of women working mainly on the streets of our towns and villages--in dehumanising conditions--has been steadily on the increase. Italy’s geography and position lends itself to easy entry by slave traders looking to “sell women” to satisfy the demand of millions of consumers.

Very soon young women tried to run away from their traffickers and started asking for help and protection. Several convents and Caritas Centres accepted the challenge and the risk of the unknown by taking the girls in and hiding them within their structures. At the outset, they faced many difficulties in assisting the victims – language barriers, cultural differences, moral conflicts, public opinion and the legal status of the victims. Very soon, by listening to their dramatic stories, the nuns came to understand that their “work” as prostitutes – still referred to as the ‘world’s oldest profession’— was not a choice they had made. What they were faced with was a new form of slavery. This situation challenged their values, attitudes, traditions and their security, while at the same time it demanded immediate answers. Some female congregations responded positively with a prophetic intuition by providing shelters, language courses, training skills and job opportunities for the victims they encountered. In this new environment, victims were also able to heal deep psychological and spiritual wounds caused by their dehumanising experiences. They were helped to regain their sense of self-worth, trust and hope. A major obstacle however remained: having no personal documents, these victims could not claim any legal rights in Italy.

In collaboration with other forces and organizations that started giving attention to the phenomenon, a few courageous and determined steps were taken to find a solution.

1.      Meetings with several women MPs to advocate, address and discuss the issue of human trafficking of thousands of women already in some protected shelters, to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society;

2.      Roundtable discussions for exchanging information, consultation and proposals among public institution and private NGOs were also set up; presided over by the Ministers of Equal Opportunity and Social Services. Eleven well-established national NGO’s and voluntary organisations were invited to partake.

3.      The Inter-Ministerial Committee against the slave trade came into effect on February 24, 1998. Comprised of representatives of several ministries, mainly women, in collaboration and consultation with several NGOs insisting on granting legal status to victims of trafficking. They were tasked with elaborating and presenting a special Article to the Parliament, to be adopted in the new Immigration Legislation dealing with the prosecution of traffickers and the protection of victims.

4.      Article 18 of Legislative Immigration Decree no. 286 was approved by the Italian Parliament on July 25, 1998.

The Content of the New Legislation (For the full text see Appendices I and II.)

Article 18 of the Italian Alien Law envisages a new type of residence permit, referred to as “Residence permit for social protection or for humanitarian reasons”. The local police authority can issue this type of residence permit for two central reasons:

1. Judicial procedure - when the victim escapes from traffickers, reports the case to the police against her exploiters and cooperates in the judicial proceedings;
2. Social procedure - when a woman wants to withdraw from the system of exploitation to which she has been exposed and accepts to undertake a rehabilitation programme managed by a select group of NGOs, without necessarily reporting against her exploiters. In this case, the NGO applies for the residence permit on behalf of the victim.

A victim can be helped through:

·        A hotline number (800.290.290) established in 12 Italian regions, operating 24 hours a day;

·        Outreach units - meeting women on the streets, offering medical opportunities, counselling and information about options for obtaining legal status;

·        Drop-in Centres for a personal and deeper understanding of the victim’s needs;

·        Safe shelters for first or second accommodation, assisting victims fulfil their personal project within the program of reintegration towards full autonomy. The project includes: housing, social benefits, medical treatment, pastoral care, psychological support, language course and training skills. The implementation of the program can last for a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years, according to the needs of the individual concerned, with the aim of full autonomy. Pregnant women and mothers with children are also accepted in the shelters and normally remain for a longer period.

Assistance and protection can be offered when a woman is:

• A victim of violence or exploitation and forced into prostitution;
• Ready to leave prostitution and asks for help, either from the local police authority or from some NGO’s;
• In danger of further violence, due to testimony given about her traffickers;
• Willing to go through a social rehabilitation programme, mainly in a protected house; during such a programme she will be granted legal documents:

Ø      With a permit to stay and work for six months;

Ø      With a passport issued by the respective embassy.

Any project will be discontinued when the applicant for legal status does not comply with the above requirements.

The Application of the Law – Article 18 provides victims with:

·        A resident permit for six months that can be renewed for another six months, while the woman applies for a legal passport[4];

·        Upon expiration, the resident permit can be renewed for another year or be extended for a period equivalent to the term of a work contract, if the person concerned already has a job, or if she is attending a course. The resident permit is also valid for a study program when a woman has proper requirements.

·        According to data from the Ministry of Equal Opportunity (and noted in the U.S. Department of State 2006 TIP Report), in 2005, the Italian government issued 922 temporary residence permits[5] to trafficked victims who cooperated with law enforcement authorities.

·        Every year the government allocates a budget for approved NGOs holding special programmes for counter-trafficking activities and rehabilitation of victims.

The main motives behind this law are the will and need to stop trafficking in human beings and to punish traffickers, to support and assist the victims in breaking the chains that bind them to their exploiters, and to allow victims to the opportunity for a process of social reintegration.

 

Sr. Eugenia Bonetti

Counter – Trafficking Office

USMI National

Rome, Italy

November 2006

 

Appendix I

 

Article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 286

Dated July 25, 1998

 

·        Comma 1: Whenever police operation, investigations or court proceedings involving any of the offences set out in art. 3 of law 75 (1958), or in art. 380 of the code of criminal procedure, or whenever the social services of a local administration, in the performance of their social assistance work, identify situations of abuse or severe exploitation of a foreign citizen, and whenever the safety of the said foreign citizen is seen to be endangered as a consequence of attempts to escape from the conditioning of a criminal organization which engages in one of the afore-cited offences, or as consequences of statements made during preliminary investigations or in the course of court proceedings, then the chief of police, also acting on the proposal of the Public Prosecutor, or with the favourable opinion of the same Public Prosecutor, may grant special residence permit enabling the foreign citizen to escape from the situation of abuse and conditioning perpetrated by the criminal organization and to participate in a social assistance and integration program.

·        Comma 4: The residence permit issued in pursuance to this article has duration of six months and may be renewed for one year or for a longer period, if required for judicial purposes. The said permit is revoked in case the holder drops from the social programs or engages in behaviour which is incompatible with the program’s goals, as reported by the Public Prosecutor or by the local administration’s social service, within its sphere of competence, or as ascertained by the chief of police, or in the case that the other conditions that initially warranted the issuance of the residence permit should no longer apply.

·        Comma 5: The residence permit provided for by this article enables access to social services and to educational institutions, as well as enrolment in the Employment Bureau, and the possibility of access to employment, provided that the minimum age requirement is met. Should the holder of the residence permit be employed as at the date of expiration, then the said permit may be renewed for the duration of the employment contract. In the case of an indefinite employment contract, the modalities for the issuance of residence permits on such grounds apply. The residence permit provided for by this article may also be converted into a residence permit for educational purposes, when the holder of the said permit is enrolled in an official educational institution.

·        Comma 7: The financial burden resulting from hereto article is estimated as ITL five billion in 1997 and ITL ten billion annually, starting from the year 1998.

Appendix II

 

Regulation to carry out the Consolidation on provisions concerning immigration discipline and rule of foreigner’s condition regarding Art. 18 of Legislation Decree no. 286 dated July 25, 1998

 

Art. 27. (Release 0f Permit 0f Staying for Reasons of Social Protection)

 

1. When the events mentioned in Article 18 0f the law exist, the proposal to the release 0f the permit 0f staying f0r reasons 0f social protection is carried out:

a) from social services 0f the local authorities, or from associations, or from bodies or other organisations enrolled in a special register mentioned in Article 52, Section 1, Letter c), linked to the local authority by convention, that have f0und situations 0f violence or 0f serious exploitation towards the f0reigner;

b) from the Public Prosecutor in cases in which a criminal proceeding has already started f0r facts 0f violence or serious exploitation referred in Section a when during this proceeding the foreigner states declarations.

2. When the chief 0f the l0cal police headquarter receives the proposal mentioned in Section 1 and he has checked the existence 0f conditions referred to in Consolidation, he/she releases the permit of staying for humanitarian reasons, valid for the activities 0f the above said Article 18, Section 5, of the Consolidation, after gaining:

a) the opinion 0f Public Prosecutor when circumstances referred in Section 1, Letter b), recur and if the prosecutor omits to formulate the proposal or if this one does not give any information about the seriousness and actuality of the danger;

b) the assistance and social integration program concerning the foreigner, as the prescription of Ministerial Commission states, as referred to in Article 25;

c) the agreement 0f the foreigner to this program, after consulting about consequences determined by the Consolidation in the case that the program would be interrupted or in the case that the f0reigner would behave in a way that is not acceptable in relation to the aims 0f the program itself;

d) the acceptance of the obligations connected to the program by the person responsible for the structure where the program will be carried out.

3. When the proposals carried out as stated in Section 1, Letter a), the chief 0f the l0cal headquarter evaluates the seriousness and the actuality of the danger even considering the elements mentioned in this proposal.