They arrived in Italy suffering threats and voodoo rituals, with the hope of a better life. Instead they found themselves on street corners, in massage parlors or in cheap apartments. Or in abandoned buildings or in the middle of Porta Palazzo, making coded signals to attract customers: they are the victims of women trafficking, “sex slaves” who come from Africa, Asia or Eastern Europe. And they keep coming: «The latest official data speak of 3 thousand Nigerian victims of trafficking in Turin and its province – estimates Rosanna Paradiso. anti-trafficking expert who has been working at the Turin prosecutor’s office since 2015 – But there is so much undeclared, we have no idea of the number of women of other nationalities”.
Since the end of the eighties
Human trafficking began as an emergency over thirty years ago. Now, unfortunately, it is a consolidated phenomenon that affects Africa, Asia and Europe. And it often involves criminal organizations, from the Nigerian mafia to Albanian, Chinese and Romanian groups: «The African girls arrive from Libya and often the journey starts from the families, who are involved in the girl’s journey» Paradiso pressed.
This makes checks and blackmail easier, also thanks to the “juju”: these are voodoo rituals that involve the use of objects or clothing, taking small portions of skin and pubic hair, and animal sacrifices. Thus the victim is subjugated from a moral and spiritual point of view, as well as with physical coercion and threats. The rites are often associated with the economic debt incurred to arrive in Europe and impose a bond of secrecy, which prohibits the victim from naming their exploiters. Which are often other women, the so-called “madames” who coordinate prostitution at a local level: «I have met many Nigerian girls who have suffered sexual abuse in their country, often within their families. And they carry it around like a burden, a sense of guilt that adds to everything they suffer here. Often they are minors who immediately enter the prostitution circle and who we intercept years later.” But by then it’s too late: «Meanwhile they ended up in prison, they have drug addictions, they have health problems due to the many abortions. And, when they are “old”, they are exploited in other ways: we have had women who worked as drug couriers and brought cocaine eggs to Turin”.
From the street to the houses
The phenomenon has changed over the years, with new countries involved and ever-changing methods. The latest news is the result of the pandemic: «No longer able to stay on the streets, the girls started working at home. Then, if no customers arrived, they were literally kicked out and kicked out. “Connection houses” were also born in that period». That is, abandoned and occupied buildings transformed into houses of prostitution. «Other methods then emerged – continues Paradiso – The connection can also take place through famous massage centres, a world that is still difficult to decipher. Or with social networks and specific sites, often in foreign languages: this is especially true for the Chinese, who “order” girls via the internet”.
There is also another method, widespread in Porta Palazzo and surrounding areas: «Many Nigerians have confided to me that they prostitute themselves in the middle of the stalls, using a code to attract customers: they touch their hand or shoulder and create a first contact. Still others work in occupied houses, in hidden places in the province or in private parties organized by the “secret cults” of their compatriots.”
The interview with the expert
Paradiso follows the victims of trafficking in Turin and has tried to help them in their country too: «But more should be done. I try to act as a “bridge” and facilitate the relationship between associations, public bodies, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, in order to coordinate the fight against trafficking and the crime behind it.”
How is it going? «Turin is at the forefront at a national level, with a contact person who receives reports regarding the exploitation of prostitution. We are working hard to bring theoretical projects into reality. But it is not easy also because, after Covid, complaints have become very few. There have been numerous cuts, there is a lot of undeclared work and it is difficult to intercept all the needs. We need greater commitment and attention from everyone.”
What is still missing? «The police and the prosecutor’s office see the last piece, perhaps ten years after the arrival of the trafficking victims. But they can be intercepted much earlier.”
Maybe when they arrive in Italy and present the asylum request. “We realized that traffickers exploit this niche offered by the law, which has become a possibility to guarantee the presence of the woman and prevent her from being repatriated.”
Isn’t it possible to solve the problem at the root, in the countries of origin? «After seeing those hundreds of women at Pellerina, I wondered why so many came from Nigeria. I went there to find an answer: I understood that it is the fault of the terrible condition of submission and poverty they have in that country. They are easily recruited because they cannot study and are controlled through voodoo rituals. Which still exist despite an edict that condemns them.”
Are local authorities and international organizations not intervening? «I wonder that too. When I was in Nigeria, I tried to stimulate activities of this type. But it is practically impossible, also because the police have fewer tools to combat the phenomenon.”
Can something be done from Italy? «One of our most effective projects focused on microcredit and helped repatriated women to open a business. I remember the disbelief of these girls when faced with the sums they received.”
They’re not used to really being helped. «The truth is that many big projects are made but then the impact on the individual is invisible. So the concrete activities are surprising, even the small ones: when we held meetings on AIDS, we distributed condoms and one of the women took them thinking about how much she would earn if she resold them.”
In Italy, however, what can be done? «Movements for sex workers’ rights have always asked to allow prostitutes to work in their homes. The idea is to arrive at a law in this sense, which would also allow prostitution to be distinguished from human trafficking. They are phenomena that do not completely overlap.”
In the meantime, we are trying to raise awareness of the problem, also through books. His “Under everyone’s eyes” wants to do exactly this. «I would like to be able to give more voice to the stories of these people, who describe with shame and fear what they suffered at 12-13 years old. I’m always struck by their gestures: while we talk, they lift up their shirts and show the cuts they suffered in Libya, the marks of the “madame’s” beatings, the scars of the rapes.”
“I have been dealing with women trafficking since 1989, when I was at the Municipality’s Foreign Office.” This is how Rossana Paradiso introduces herself, an employee of the metropolitan city who since 2015 has been working “seconded” in the “Organised crime, municipality and urban security” group of the prosecutor’s office. In 1993 you coordinated the activities of the Street Unit, following prostitutes and advising them to avoid dangers (also through leaflets and comics signed by Davide Toffolo). In 2000 you founded Tampep, an association that promotes the rights and health of migrant sex workers (you were president until 2015). You have directed projects in Europe and Africa, especially in Nigeria, you have held courses for law enforcement agencies and operators who combat trafficking and exploitation. You collaborate with the United Nations and the Council of Europe but also with film and documentary authors, such as the director Tonino de Bernardi (to whom an exhibition at the Cinema Museum is dedicated). On the topic he has just written “Under everyone’s eyes”, included in the program of the Book Fair: «After many requests, I felt the need to write – anticipates Paradiso, who will present the book at 4.30pm today in the Incontro center on Corso Casale 212 (free admission) – The result is a text-story that explains the phenomenon.”
