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Sexual exploitation Spain, one of the main destinations of trafficking in women

The Immigration Unit of the State Prosecutor General’s Office identified 386 women victims of trafficking in 2016. Of these, 33 were minors.

Spain is one of the main countries of destination for trafficking of women for sexual exploitation, most of them young people between 18 and 25 years old who come from Nigeria, Romania, China, Brazil and Bolivia.

Although there is no exact data, the Immigration Unit of the State Prosecutor General’s Office identified 386 women victims of trafficking in 2016 (33 minors): 365 captured for sexual exploitation, 15 for labor exploitation, three for forced marriages, two for begging and one related to criminal activities.

Of the total victims, the majority – 65% -, came from Nigeria.

This is detailed by the Movimiento por la Paz (MPDL) in the report “Trafficking in women today: Nigerian women victims of trafficking in Spain”, on the occasion of the World Day Against Trafficking that is celebrated on July 30 and result of the European project “Best practices in tackling trafficking Nigerian Route” (BINIs) of which this organization is a partner.

The report, which focuses on the case of Nigerian women, warns that the figures that are known “are only a small part of the reality of trafficking” due, among other factors, to the difficulties that exist for the identification and protection of the victims.

In this way, they warn of the lack of complaints from the victims due to “fear and submission to the trafficking network”.

They also warn of the scarce knowledge and training on issues of trafficking on the part of the social services of the public administration and the “revictimization” to which, in many occasions, this lack of training of the staff gives rise when trying to help them.

Another problem faced by experts when detecting trafficking is the “high mobility within and outside of Spain” to which the victims are subjected.

The integration of the victims in the Spanish society is another one of the detected problems and, according to the experts, it has its origin in five factors.

The first is the lack of resources and ignorance of the language ; the second, the low educational level, which does not allow them to integrate into the labor market, and the third, the low self-esteem resulting from the loss of dignity that implies being a victim of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

The fourth is fear and psychological anguish, due to the threats received by the criminal network of trafficking, especially through magic ju-ju (known as voodoo) which, they explain, “is an essential part of Nigerian culture” and , finally, due to the lack of post-liberation opportunities.

Despite these difficulties, the report recognizes that in Spain there are initiatives and projects that contribute to the identification, protection and integration of victims.

The report, financed by the EU, counts on the contributions of the various social, governmental and non-governmental agents, working in this field and includes data from Italy, Malta, Austria, Germany and Finland and its objective is to improve the capacity to fight and prevent the trafficking of women and girls.

In addition, it aims to improve the exchange of good practices in the identification, protection and long-term integration of victims of trafficking networks in the asylum and migration process.

The results of the research are based on official statistics, on the experience of various social agents working in this field and on the testimonies of Nigerian women who are former victims of trafficking.

Source: Publico > publico.es/espana/explotacion-sexual-espana-principales-destinos-trata-mujeres.html[/text_output]