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Princess

2017 (Narrative date)

Despite having the lowest regional prevalence of modern slavery in the world, Europe remains a destination, and to a lesser extent, a source region for the exploitation of men, women and children in forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking for sexual exploitation is the most widespread form of modern slavery with an 84% of victims trafficked for this purpose. The majority of those trafficked for this purpose are women and young girls who often originate from Eastern Europe within the EU as well as Sub-Saharan Africa, with the majority of people being trafficked from Nigeria to various parts of Europe including Italy, France, Spain and the UK through an array of complex trafficking networks. 

 

Princess, 43, was trafficked from Nigeria into prostitution in Italy 

We saw people return from Europe rich. A woman said she would give me work in a Nigerian restaurant in Italy. When I arrived I was told I had to pay back a £40,000 debt before I could leave. They said they would kill me if I didn’t work as a prostitute. The work was so dangerous. I was stabbed twice. I managed to leave, and now I work to help other women escape. These traffickers take everything from you – all that makes you human. I say to the women I help: ‘Let us not rest until we have brought them all to justice’ 

 

As told to the Guardian