Europe tightens asylum rules increasing risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation for women
Trigger warning: article includes stories of sexual violence
Women are increasingly travelling alone in search of safety, work, or to escape gender-based violence on the Mediterranean and Balkan routes. But humanitarian groups say that as the number of women on the move is increasing, so are the dangers.
A report from the International Rescue Committee noted a 250% rise in single adult women arriving in Italy on the Balkan route. And with 3,419 migrant deaths or disappearances in Europe last year, the risks along these routes are already deadly.
Dreams replaced by nightmares
Esther left Nigeria in 2016 after years of abuse and homelessness. A woman approached her with what sounded like hope: a job and new life in Europe. Instead, she became a victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation. She recalled in an interview with the BBC:
She locked me up in a room and brought in a man. He had sex with me, with force. I was still a virgin, … That’s what they do… travel to different villages in Nigeria to pick young girls, and bring them to Libya to become sex slaves.
After enduring four months of exploitation in Libya, Esther managed to escape. She embarked on a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean in a rubber dinghy. She was rescued by the Italian coast guard and brought to Lampedusa island. Esther applied for asylum three times before finally being recognized as a refugee.
Other women share similar experiences of sexual violence and exploitation while on the move. Tragically, some pack condoms or get contraception before leaving, expecting sexual violence. Hermine Gbedo of the anti-trafficking network Stella Polare says workers report that smugglers often demand sex as part of the payment. And without an alternative safe route available to take instead, many women are forced to comply.
Nina, a 28-year-old woman from Kosovo, journeyed the forests of Eastern Europe with her sister, fleeing abuse at home only to face new attacks along the route to Italy. She recalls how men would choose women at night, saying, “You could hear the screams.” She and her sister later told authorities they feared they would be killed if they returned home.
Gbedo assists women migrants in Trieste, a north-eastern Italian port city that is now a key entry point into the European Union for people arriving from the Balkans. Many migrants move on from Trieste to destinations such as Germany, France, and the UK.