Contemporary slavery: the lost daughters of Nigeria

Every year many Nigerian women arrive to Italy with the promise of a legal job, but in reality they are reduced to slavery and forced into prostitution. Over the past three years, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of potential victims of trafficking in Italy for sexual exploitation has increased by 600 percent. The phenomenon involves more and more young girls - often minors - who become the object of violence and abuse already during the trip. Once arrived to destination, dozens of unscrupulous customers are ready to satisfy their sexual desires by paying a few euros, although most likely they are aware of the fact that girls are exploited by someone, usually the so-called "madame", former prostitutes who manage the Nigerians girls as soon as they arrive to Italy.

Most of the girls who leave Nigeria, at the end of their journey, arrive to Castelvolturno, a town in Southern Italy where more than half of the population is made up of irregular immigrants.

On March 9, 2018, during a ceremony held in the royal palace of Benin City, the “oba” Ewuare II, the Benin monarch (current state of Edo, Nigeria) and the highest local religious authority celebrated a rite against anyone who promoted illegal immigration in his territories. In this way, Ewuare II eliminated the voodoo rituals that linked to sexual slavery women who were victims of human trafficking in other countries. "From this moment - the oba Ewuare II declared - all those who have lived in fear and in the obligation of having to repay a huge debt to respect the oath, can feel free from this fear because any form of oath is canceled ".

Despite this historic event, the human trafficking and the exploitation of prostitution were not interrupted.