prostitution

• Italy
• Libya
• Nigeria

A Nigerian couple heading to Europe via Libya was separated and forced to suffer at the hands of ruthless smugglers. Thanks to a safe house supported by the UN and the medical charity MSF, the two were eventually reunited.

• Italy
• Nigeria

In Italy, thousands of Nigerian women are being forced into prostitution. The Nigerian mafia is suspected of being behind it. Insiders warn of the dangers of this 'new mafia' – with connections to Italian organized crime gangs.

• Germany

A German court has charged a nun €500 for assisting Nigerian women threatened with deportation from Germany. The two women reportedly fled from forced prostitution in Italy. Different groups criticized the court order and called for a decriminalization of church asylum.

• Burkina Faso

Increasing numbers of Nigerian women are being trafficked into prostitution in Burkina Faso’s gold mining camps, an investigation has revealed. Lured by traffickers who promise them jobs, they end up with huge debts and no way out.

• Ethiopia
• Lebanon

The economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis have forced many irregular migrants from Ethiopia to return home, where they are faced with destitution on a daily basis. Some turn to sex work as their only option to rise out of abject poverty. Others resort to prostitution to finance their next migration.

• Italy

Police in northern Italy have arrested a woman who recruited young Nigerian women into forced prostitution. The woman has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

• Italy
• Nigeria

Italian authorities announced Wednesday that they had arrested two 'madams' and put 10 other people of African origins under investigation for the incitement to prostitution of 15 young Nigerian women who had arrived in Sicily on migrant boats and were forced to sell sex.

• Italy
• Nigeria

Catania police have arrested ten alleged members of a criminal group suspected of trafficking and sexually exploiting young Nigerian women. The operation called 'Promise Land' led to the arrest of the suspected human traffickers, investigative sources said.

• Italy

An order for pretrial custody has been issued for two Nigerian women residing in Italy. They are accused of recruiting women from Nigeria, including minors, and forcing them into prostitution in Ferrara, both on the street and in apartments. One of the women was arrested, but the other is still being sought by police.

• Italy
• Libya

An Italian court has convicted 6 men from Nigeria in the gang rape case at Bari migrant center in southern Italy. The prison terms range between 5 and 9 years for gang-raping a 25-year-old.

• Italy
• Nigeria

Italian authorities have issued arrest warrants against 11 Nigerians. The suspects are accused of recruiting young women and minors in Nigeria and then coercing them into prostitution in Rome.

• Côte d’Ivoire
• Italy
• Libya

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that the number of women and girls being trafficked from Ivory Coast has been rising. Many of them reportedly suffer abuse, slavery and prostitution — both in North Africa and Europe.