International Organization for Migration: Report published on Arrivals of Sexually Exploited Migrants

On the 20th July 2017, the International Organization for Migration published its new report on the rise of young and vulnerable migrants, at risk of becoming human trafficking victims, arriving in Italy. The report was released in Italian this week by the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean in Rome: "Human Trafficking across the Central Mediterranian Route: Data, stories and Information collected by the IOM."

The report is based on the information collected by the IOM at embarking sites and refugee welcome centres in regions of Southern Italy, where staff of the Organization identify potential victims, providing assistence to those who, once identified, decide to accept protection from their exploiters.

Since 2014, IOM Italy has seen an almost 600 per cent increase in the number of potential sex trafficking victims arriving in Italy by sea. This upward trend has continued during the first six months of 2017, including increasingly younger girls (often underage girls) who become the objects of violence and abuse during the journey to Europe. In particular, the phenomenon concerns around 80% of the women who arrive from Nigeria - from 1,800 in 2014 to over 11,000 in 2016.

The IOM was founded in 1951 and is the main intergovernmental organization in the field of migration. These days, 165 nations are member states, Italy being one of the founding countries. The IOM has a flexible structure and over 460 offices located in more than 100 countries.