Funding obtained from the Open Society Fund to Counter Xenophobia,
Project Coordinator: Anna Triandafyllidou
Main Researcher: Letizia Palumbo
Budget: USD 24,394
Duration: 1st of April 2015 to 31st of January 2016
This project aims to critically assess current responses to trafficking for labour exploitation in Italy, and propose alternative frameworks for developing more effective strategies with regard to prevention, and protection of victims. It will provide tools and suggestions for improving the implementation of existing legislation, and advocate for more effective measures. The project focuses on trafficking of adults (men and women) for labour exploitation in the agriculture sector in Sicily, and in the domestic work sector in Tuscany. Bringing together legal studies, migration studies, sociology, and gender studies, and engaging in fieldwork-based research, the project pursues the following specific objectives: 1) mapping the ways in which migration regulation produces vulnerability that exposes migrant workers to the risks of trafficking in agriculture and domestic work sectors; 2) offers a comprehensive analysis of the impact of anti-trafficking interventions in Italy with regard to identification, assistance, and protection of victims, and preventive measures; 3) offers relevant policy advice by helping to clarify three crucial and highly contested concepts: abuse of a position of vulnerability, consent, and exploitation; 4) proposes amendments to the policy implementation framework; 5) drafts a Practical Guide for legal practitioners and policy makers for improving prevention strategies and protection of victims.