R 201609Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1645
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
AMCONSUL FLORENCE 
AMCONSUL MILAN 
AMCONSUL NAPLES

UNCLAS ROME 000204 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM PHUM PREF KWMN KFRD SMIG IT XX
SUBJECT: ITALY: 2008 TIP REPORT 
 
REF: 08 STATE 132759 
 
 
This is the 2009 Trafficking in Persons report for Italy. 
Answers are keyed to questions in Reftel.  The Embassy 
point of contact is Political Officer Peter Brownfeld, 
telephone: 39-06-4674-2054, fax: 39-06-4674-2623. 
 
OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES 
- - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶23. A. Sources of information include government and NGO 
officials, research projects contracted by the government 
and prepared by social research organizations, government 
statistics and reports, international conferences, and 
media reports. The Ministry of Equal Opportunity promoted 
the creation of a national observatory on TIP in 
cooperation with Transcrime, an independent research 
center. (see 24.D.) 
 
¶23. B. Italy is a country of destination and transit for 
internationally trafficked men, women and children.  There 
is no evidence that Italy is a country of origin. 
 
NGO and government TIP experts agree that the number of TIP 
victims remained stable in 2008.  According to NGOs and 
government officials, the majority of sex workers from 
Eastern Europe arrive and work voluntarily, and thus cannot 
be classified as TIP victims.  More than one third of 
trafficked sex workers come from Romania, according to the 
Italian Ministry for Equal Opportunity. Other continuing 
trends include a large number of women who enter the 
country voluntarily, a continued decline in the average age 
of sex workers, and an increasing number of victims 
trafficked for labor outside of the sex industry. 
 
In May the government enacted a security decree which 
entitles mayors to adopt measures designed to limit street 
prostitution. These measures included barring individuals 
from congregating along certain streets and from dressing 
in provocative ways that were identified with prostitutes. 
Local authorities enforced such rules, especially in big 
cities. As a consequence, during the second half of 2008 
some sex workers moved to nearby villages or to apartments 
and clubs. With prostitution increasingly hidden from the 
public eye, NGOs and independent experts maintain that 
abuse of sex workers is soaring and the identification of 
victims of trafficking is becoming more complex. 
 
According to PARSEC, the only social research institute 
that collects reliable statistics on TIP, there were 
approximately 2,700 TIP victims in 2008. PARSEC asserted 
that there are approximately 25,000 sex workers 
(overwhelmingly foreign) working the streets, around 40 
percent Romanian and 25 to 30 percent Nigerian. PARSEC 
estimates there are approximately 15,000 sex workers active 
in apartments or clubs. Approximately 5,000-6,000 sex 
workers move in and out of the country every year, 
especially in the summer.  Traffickers are also moving 
victims more frequently within Italy, often keeping victims 
in major cities like Rome or Milan for only a few months at 
a time. Such victims are more susceptible to violence and 
other abuse. 
 
On September 11, the Council of Ministers approved a draft 
law designed to reduce street prostitution, which penalizes 
both sex workers and clients and stiffens penalties for the 
exploitation of minors. 
 
Minors represented 10 percent of the total number of 
victims. According to the Ministry of Interior, in 2008 
about 400 minors came ashore in Sicily, were hosted in 
centers run by NGOs and then disappeared. Some might have 
been trafficked for labor exploitation in agriculture. 
 
In 2007, 1,009 victims received residence permits, compared 
to 927 in 2006. In 2007, health care, shelter and job 
training services were provided to victims from Nigeria (42 
percent), Romania (26 percent), the former Soviet Union (11 
percent), Albania (5 percent) and other countries (16 
percent). 
 
There are no specific statistics for other trafficking 
victims, including forced domestic or agricultural labor 
for adults and trafficking in children. In general, a 
significant percentage of workers (10-15 percent) are hired 
illegally and a small percentage of them are exploited or 
trafficked. In 2007, labor inspectors found 140,000 
undeclared workers employed by some of the 342,000 
companies under scrutiny. PARSEC estimates about 500 
victims of labor trafficking for work outside the sex 
industry.  Problems with forced labor occur primarily in 
the agricultural sector and mostly in the southern Italy 
where, according to the NGO Doctors without Borders, 90 
percent of foreign seasonal workers are unregistered and 
about two-thirds are illegally in Italy.  The top five 
source countries for agricultural workers are Poland, 
Romania, Pakistan, Albania and the Ivory Coast. The 
Ministry of Equal Opportunity in cooperation with the 
governments of Poland, Romania and Portugal and the 
International Labor Organization pro 
moted a study on labor exploitation and best practice of 
assistance to victims. Training sessions for labor 
inspectors will follow in 2009. 
 
In some cases, prosecutors are not able to prove the crime 
of trafficking in persons for lack of evidence and charge 
offenders with other crimes, such as abetting illegal 
immigration. In most cases, laborers receive some payment 
for their work, though they generally cannot refuse to 
work. There are also reports of smuggled immigrants who 
enter Italy freely to obtain seasonal employment and become 
trapped after exploiters confiscate their passports. 
 
In the "Terra Promessa" operation in 2006, a Carabinieri 
unit freed 113 Polish tomato pickers in Puglia during raids 
that revealed prison-like labor camp conditions. Italian 
and Polish authorities exposed an international criminal 
gang which smuggled an estimated 1,000 Polish workers into 
Italy. The 19 individuals arrested and tried were sentenced 
in 2007 and 2008 to four to ten years' imprisonment. 
 
¶23. C. Most children and women are trafficked into 
commercial sex slavery. Exploiters often seize their 
documents and most of their earnings. Victims are 
segregated and obliged to work long hours and move 
frequently to other cities or abroad. Men are trafficked 
into low-paid hard jobs in agriculture or in the service 
sector and are subject to debt bondage and slavery. 
 
Social workers reported that in big cities there were 
isolated cases of male children rented out to clients who 
pay in advance a fee to traffickers. 
 
Chinese men and women are exploited in Italy as forced 
labor. They usually arrive in Italy via Russia into Greece 
where they board small ships that also carry drugs into 
Italy. Chinese women are separated during these trips and 
usually end up performing forced labor in Milan and 
Florence. 
 
Polish victims are frequently enticed via the Internet to 
Italy with promises of legitimate employment and end up as 
forced laborers in agricultural fields in the South. 
 
23.D. Persons trafficked to Italy primarily come from 
Nigeria, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, and Albania. 
Other countries of origin include Russia, China, 
Uzbekistan, East and North African countries and South 
America (particularly Ecuador, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, and 
Argentina). Most trafficked Nigerians enter northern Italy 
legally, via air, from other EU countries. Their estimated 
cost of travel is approximately 6,000 euro. Victims from 
North and East Africa arrive illegally, via sea routes, 
especially from Libya, where the journey costs 
approximately 2,500 euro. Trafficked children work 
primarily in the sex industry and as beggars. 
 
In 2008 36,900 immigrants came ashore illegally from 
African countries, a 75 percent increase compared to 2007. 
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 
about 75 percent of them requested asylum or refugee 
status. Hunger, wars and lack of jobs drove these 
immigrants to leave their countries. They were allowed to 
stay in temporary centers around the country and wait for a 
final decision. Some, who fled the shelters, were at risk 
of being trafficked for sexual or labor exploitation. In 
January, the Interior Minister announced that foreigners 
who arrive in the island of Lampedusa will be repatriated 
after being identified. The UNHCR, along with the Red 
Cross, Amnesty International and Save the Children called 
for better measures to ascertain immigrants' nationalities. 
 
PARSEC estimates that 30 percent of women involved in the 
sex trade are Nigerian. The vast majority of victims of 
trafficking in general are Romanian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian 
and Moldovan. Data on the origin of victims who receive 
temporary resident permits and services provide a general 
sketch of the trafficking situation. 
 
As the majority of trafficked victims in Italy are women 
and female children forced into prostitution, they face all 
the attendant risks of unsafe or unprotected sex. The 
majority of Nigerian women arrive willingly, often unaware 
of actual working conditions. Eastern Europeans often 
arrive in search of legitimate jobs but find themselves in 
debt and exploited by the co-nationals who loaned them 
money for the trip. Traffickers enforce compliance by 
seizing the victims' documents and subjecting them to 
imprisonment, beatings and rape. Increasingly, Eastern 
European sex workers are arriving and working voluntarily, 
especially those from Romania and Bulgaria. 
 
On January 31, police in cooperation with local authorities 
and NGOs, arrested two Nigerians suspected of having 
illegally smuggled some women and a minor from Nigeria and 
then exploited them as sex workers in Rome and Latina. 
 
Nigerian minors are subject to voodoo rituals, and police 
report that some Nigerian parents sell their children into 
slavery. The number of sex workers working on the streets 
is decreasing while the number working in private 
residences where it is more difficult to monitor or to 
assist victims is growing. 
 
¶23. E. Victims from the Balkans and Eastern Europe are 
controlled by organized crime groups, frequently from 
Romania and Albania. Eastern European young girls are 
generally forced into prostitution by Albanian clans. 
Although Albanian groups continue to participate heavily in 
trafficking in Italy, their role as middlemen has 
diminished as Romanian, Moldovan, Bulgarian and Ukrainian 
crime organizations traffic in their co-nationals. 
Increasing numbers of women from Eastern Europe are 
involved in the recruitment and exploitation of women from 
their home countries. 
 
According to NGO and police sources, individual 
unaffiliated smugglers from Eastern Europe often traffic 
women one at a time, replacing some of the larger criminal 
organizations that were easier to target because of their 
size. Each trafficker usually has the support of one or two 
accomplices and exploits three or four victims. These women 
from Romania and Bulgaria do not need a residence permit in 
order to stay in Italy and frequently do not cooperate with 
police investigators. 
 
On February 11, police arrested three Romanians and an 
Italian on charges of having trafficked, raped and abused a 
Romanian girl, who they had convinced to leave her home to 
move to Sicily with the prospect of employment as a 
domestic worker. The Romanians held her for 20 days, seized 
her passport, and raped her. Then the Italian men abused 
and exploited her as a sex worker in the province of 
Palermo. 
 
Victims are more reluctant to report crimes and to accept 
assistance, based on Article 18 (see 26.A and 27.A) because 
the smuggler is more likely to be someone she knows from 
her country of origin. Italian analysts expect a decrease 
in sex workers coming from Eastern Europe as a result of 
improved economic conditions in Eastern Europe, especially 
countries now in the EU. 
 
According to government and NGO sources, organized 
traffickers are increasingly sophisticated in the way they 
routinely move victims between cities and regions within 
Italy, as well as between European countries. Trafficking 
organizations mostly use three north-south axes (focused 
along the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts) and three 
east-west axes to move their victims. 
 
Italian organized crime has not traditionally been involved 
in trafficking, except for providing logistical support and 
lodging. Routes and operations tend to follow established 
methods and organizations for moving illegal drugs, weapons 
and other contraband. Sex workers coming from southern 
China work also in massage and beauty parlors frequented by 
Italians. Although their numbers are growing, the 
authorities do not consider the majority of these Chinese 
women to be victims. According to PARSEC, Chinese sex 
workers coming from northern areas of their home country in 
most cases work on the streets and are more vulnerable. 
Nigerian sex workers work individually or are controlled by 
a Nigerian madam, usually a formerly trafficked person, who 
holds the lien on the loan paid by the victim. Victims from 
Africa and the Middle East usually are controlled by small, 
freelance operators who generally smuggle individuals for a 
one-time fee. 
 
¶24. A. The government recognizes the problem and has 
devoted significant resources to combating trafficking in 
persons. In 2008 the Ministry of Equal Opportunity launched 
a study on trafficking for labor exploitation. 
 
¶24. B. In 1998, Italy established an inter-agency committee 
to coordinate the fight against trafficking. Government 
agencies involved include the Ministries of Interior, Equal 
Opportunity, Justice, Labor Social Affairs, Family, and 
Foreign Affairs, as well as an anti-Mafia prosecution unit. 
Regional and municipal governments are also actively 
engaged in efforts to combat trafficking, often with 
funding from the central government. 
 
¶24. C. In May, the government adopted new measures designed 
to combat illegal immigration, smuggling and trafficking, 
including the deployment of about 3,000 troops and extra 
resources for law enforcement agencies. Funding made 
available to help victims, about 10 million euro, by 
national, regional and local authorities is adequate, 
according to independent observers. 
 
¶24. D. Italy does not systematically evaluate the results 
of its anti-trafficking policy. In 2008, the Ministry for 
Equal Opportunity awarded a grant to Transcrime, an 
independent research center that is implementing an 
appraisal system at both national and regional levels. In 
2007, the Ministry for Equal Opportunity collected entry 
and exit records of assisted victims to evaluate the 
effectiveness of assistance programs, but that data is not 
yet available. 
 
Various government agencies collect national data on TIP 
arrests and prosecution, victim assistance programs, number 
of illegal immigrants intercepted, issuance of temporary 
residence permits, and calls to a victim hotline. Most 
national funding is disbursed through grants to NGOs. 
Regional and local governments also fund programs. However, 
there is no central mechanism for monitoring these 
activities. 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
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¶25. A. The most recent anti-trafficking law was enacted in 
¶2003. It specifically prohibits trafficking in persons; 
trafficking previously had been prosecuted using other 
sections of the Penal Code. The law provides for increased 
sentences of 8-20 years imprisonment for trafficking in 
persons and for enslavement. For convictions in which the 
victims were minors destined for prostitution, sentences 
are increased by one-third to one-half (to 12-30 years). 
The law applies special anti-Mafia prison conditions to 
traffickers designed to limit criminals' ability to 
continue operations from jail. The law also mandates strong 
penalties (4-12 years imprisonment; fines up to 15,000 euro 
for each alien smuggled) to combat alien smuggling and 
human trafficking. 
 
¶25. B. See 25.A. 
 
¶25. C. Labor trafficking is covered under the 
anti-trafficking law. 
 
¶25. D. The penalty for rape or forcible sexual assault is 
up to 12 years imprisonment. 
 
¶25. E. Italy's anti-TIP law does not require the government 
to maintain statistics on prosecution; however, the 
Ministry of Justice provides national data on 
investigations, arrests, prosecutions and convictions. 
 
Investigations and arrests: According to the Ministry of 
Justice, in 2007, authorities investigated 2,296 people for 
trafficking and arrested 513. Trial courts convicted 178 
people and appeal courts convicted 104. 
 
Prosecutors are often able to collect evidence and charge 
defendants with other crimes, such as participation in 
criminal association to exploit prostitution, abetting 
prostitution, illegal immigration, etc. The Ministry of 
Interior reported a 17 percent increase in the number of 
people accused of exploitation of prostitution between 2004 
and 2006. 
 
¶25. F. The Ministries of Interior and Defense include 
specialized training on identification of victims and 
investigation of trafficking and exploitation in the 
regular curriculum for law enforcement agencies. In 2008, 
the GOI implemented a "train the trainers" program for 
magistrates, law enforcement agents and NGOs who work with 
victims of trafficking funded by the European Union. 
 
The Ministry for Equal Opportunity distributed a booklet 
outlining the provisions of the anti-trafficking programs 
and participated in training programs for magistrates and 
police officers. The Ministry of Interior regularly updates 
a book for law enforcement officers on TIP laws and best 
practices for assisting victims. 
 
¶25. G. The government cooperates with other governments in 
investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases. In 2008, 
the government signed an agreement with Libyan authorities 
aimed at fighting illegal immigration, smuggling and 
trafficking. In 2004, the anti-Mafia unit of the MOJ signed 
an agreement with the Nigerian MOJ to improve the exchange 
of information on investigations under the aegis of the 
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Institute, 
Italy actively participates in EU-wide initiatives to share 
information on law enforcement, especially cross-border 
crimes, but differences in legal systems, law-enforcement 
organization, and criminal statutes impeded cooperation. 
 
In May, Italian police worked with their counterparts in 
Greece, and Bulgaria to arrest six Nigerians who 
established a criminal organization that had trafficked 
about 100 Nigerian girls in the three countries. In 
2006-07, the Italian Central Operations Division of the 
Ministry of Interior's Anti-Crime Directorate cooperated 
with colleagues from Romania to conduct "Operation 
Spartacus," aimed at stopping trafficking in persons and 
illegal immigration. 
 
¶25. H. Italy has not been asked to extradite people charged 
with trafficking in other countries, nor has it had any 
cases requiring extradition of one of its own nationals 
charged with a trafficking offense. The 2003 law provides a 
new legal basis for such extraditions. 
 
¶25. I. There is no evidence to indicate government 
involvement in, or tolerance of, trafficking on a local or 
institutional level. However from time to time there are 
media reports on cases of alleged visa fraud. In September 
2007, an officer of the Italian consulate in Kiev was 
arrested and accused of abetting illegal immigration along 
with some other people accused of trafficking in young 
girls exploited as sex workers in clubs and discos. 
 
¶25. J. See 25. I. 
 
¶25. K. Prostitution is legal in Italy. The security package 
enacted in May and the implementing regulations approved in 
August entitled mayors to adopt measures to prevent and 
combat offences against public decency, including street 
prostitution and begging. Major cities implemented zoning 
by-laws and fined clients who in violation with such 
regulations negotiate with sex workers on the streets. In 
August, authorities of some cities started enforcing these 
new rules. A law approved in 2006 raised the legal minimum 
age for a prostitute from 15 to 18 years of age. 
Prostitution is not formally regulated. Sex workers do not 
face criminal charges for their activities, but authorities 
use other administrative regulations (i.e., loitering and 
traffic laws) to discourage their activities. The law 
criminalizes organized prostitution. Brothel 
owners/operators and pimps face criminal charges. 
 
¶25. L. There are no reports of involvement of troops and 
social workers in trafficking related cases. Soldiers 
deployed abroad receive human rights training including 
sessions on trafficking. 
 
¶25. M. The NGO ECPAT Italy estimated that 80,000 Italian 
men travel to Kenya, Thailand, Brazil, Latin American 
countries, and more recently to the Czech Republic for sex 
tourism every year. According to a 2006 UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF) report, 18 percent of clients of sex workers in 
Kenya were Italian. 
 
Under current law, domestic courts may try citizens, and 
permanent residents who engage in sex tourism, including 
outside the country, even if the offense is not a crime in 
the country in which it occurred. The country has a code of 
conduct for tourist agencies to help combat sex tourism. In 
November, the Undersecretary for Tourism launched a program 
to fight sex tourism including: certificates of Responsible 
Tourism issued to networks of travel agencies, tour 
operators and airports which reach out to clients to try to 
prevent crimes committed abroad, and a communication 
campaign to promote awareness among potential clients. 
 
On May 28, a man charged with sex tourism committed in 
Thailand and Cambodia, was sentenced to 14 years' 
imprisonment. On March 6 an Italian tourist was arrested in 
Cambodia and accused of abusing six minors. 
 
On December 4, a police operation called "White Souls" led 
to five arrests and investigations of 36 men on charges of 
child pornography and the seizure of hundreds of videos in 
14 regions. Investigators believe that they also took part 
in sex tourism. 
 
In January, ECPAT Italy which assists 1,000 sexually abused 
children in Burma, inaugurated in Laos the first 
rehabilitation center for up to 80 underage victims of 
sexual exploitation. In June, the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and ECPAT Italy organized a training course for 
diplomats on preventing sex tourism and on domestic and 
international criminal law. 
 
The law punishes with imprisonment and/or stiff fines 
crimes relating to child prostitution and child 
pornography, even when the offense is committed abroad. 
This law also applies to Italian military and police 
participating in overseas operations. 
 
PROTECTION OF AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
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¶26. A. The government protects victims and witnesses. 
Victims are enrolled in programs run by NGOs or religious 
communities that provide shelter and support. 
 
¶26. B. Article 13 of the Law 228/2003 provides for three to 
six months assistance to victims while article 18 of Law 
286/1998 guarantees shelter benefits for another twelve 
months and reintegration assistance. Moreover, victims 
usually obtain temporary residence/work permits that can 
lead to permanent residency. In fact adults who are 
identified as trafficking victims are granted a six-month 
residency permit, renewable if the victim finds employment 
or has enrolled in a training program, and are sheltered in 
special facilities. Minors receive an automatic residence 
permit until they are 18, and they are hosted in separate 
centers. NGOs run these services with funding provided by 
national, regional and local authorities. 
 
¶26. C. In 2007, 1,009 victims obtained temporary residence 
visas. The government provides legal and medical assistance 
through NGOs as soon a victim has been identified. 
Assistance programs are carried out mainly in larger 
cities, such as Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Florence and 
Naples, where the majority of victims are concentrated. 
 
In 2007, NGOs assisted approximately 9,300 victims. 
Services included health care (55 percent), legal advice 
(22 percent), psychological support (12 percent), social 
counseling (10 percent) and other services (1 percent). 
 
In 2007, under Article 18, about 2,000 victims, including 
198 minors, entered social protection programs. Of the 
victims placed in social protection programs, approximately 
37 percent were from Nigeria, 23 percent were from Romania, 
about 4 percent were from Morocco, Senegal, and Rwanda 
combined, another 4 percent were from Moldova, and the rest 
came from various countries in Central and Eastern Europe, 
Central Asia, and South America. Of the 190 underage girls 
placed in social protection programs, 74 percent were from 
Romania, and 13 percent from Nigeria. 
 
The majority of victims were housed in shelters, while 
others lived independently with support. Other funded 
projects included reintegration, assisted repatriation, 
victims' assistance and job training programs. NGOs, with 
government funding, provided literacy courses for 588 
people and vocational training for 313; helped 436 victims 
find temporary employment and another 907 individuals find 
permanent jobs. 
 
¶26. D. See above. Almost all assisted victims are foreign 
nationals. 
 
¶26. E. Under article 13 of the Law 228/2003 the Ministry of 
Equal Opportunity provides three to six months assistance 
to victims. Under article 18 of Law 286/1998 guarantees 
shelter benefits for another twelve months and 
reintegration assistance. 
 
¶26. F. Article 18 provides for the identification and 
transfer of victims placed under protective custody to NGOs 
that provide transition, reintegration and/or repatriation 
services to victims. NGOs that receive victims are 
registered by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare and 
monitored by the Ministry for Equal Opportunity. 
 
The Ministry of Equal Opportunity promoted a study on labor 
trafficking that was coordinated by an independent expert, 
with the aim of developing proposals on the identification 
of and assistance for victims. 
 
¶26. G. In 2007, NGOs, with the support of the Ministry of 
Equal Opportunity, assisted 1,974 people; 1,009 obtained a 
residence permit as victims of trafficking; 588 were 
enrolled in educational institutions; 313 were enrolled in 
training courses, and 907 received job offers. 
 
¶26. H. There is no standard mechanism for screening for 
victims among people involved in the sex trade. The 
Ministry of Justice has proposed to other ministries and 
NGOs to agree on a memorandum of understanding regarding 
common guidelines on the identification of victims. 
 
In 2007, the Ministry of Interior strengthened 
identification procedures used by law enforcement, 
especially for illegal immigrants arriving from Africa, as 
recommended by an independent commission established in 
¶2006. 
 
In 2007, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity asked NGOs to 
contact workers in the sex industry and provide advice on 
the services available. This experimental initiative was 
implemented in Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Venice, Bologna 
and Palermo. In the same cities, social mediators conducted 
a public awareness campaign on prostitution and 
trafficking. 
 
¶26. I. Victims in Italy usually do not face prosecution for 
other laws they may have broken if they file a complaint 
against a trafficker. 
 
¶26. J. The government encourages victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking through the 
offer of a temporary residence permit. Italian law does not 
allow victims to seek redress or compensation through civil 
court proceedings. A victim who is a material witness in a 
court case against a former employer is allowed to obtain 
other employment. Under a victim restitution program 
monitored by the International Organization for Migration, 
81 victims were repatriated in 2008. These victims were 
given 500 euro by the Government for repatriation, up to 
1,600 euro for resettlement in their home country, and 
reintegration assistance for six months. 
 
¶26. K. The Ministry of Interior trains police officers in 
victim identification and victim assistance. The Ministry 
of Equal Opportunity promotes training initiatives and an 
exchange of best practices for experts and social workers 
every three months. Special training programs were 
implemented to improve operational capabilities in southern 
regions. Because Italian citizens generally are not 
trafficking victims, Italy does not provide training to its 
embassies and consulates and does not need to provide 
assistance to repatriated nationals. 
 
¶26. L. Italian nationals generally are not victims of 
trafficking. 
 
¶26. M. There are over 200 domestic and international NGOs 
in Italy that work on the trafficking issue. The most 
notable include: 
 
(a) PARSEC. This is a social research institute that 
collects the most reliable data on trafficking in Italy. It 
also operates several mobile assistance units and works 
closely with local governments. 
 
(b) On The Road Association. Located in the Marche, 
Abruzzo, and Molise regions, it provides legal, medical, 
social, and psychological assistance through its mobile 
units, shelters and safe houses. It also has an employment 
program that provides victims with jobs and pays them for 
their work. 
 
(c) CARITAS. This is a large lay Catholic association that 
works with the needy in numerous shelters throughout Italy. 
It collects statistics on and works with immigrant 
communities providing food, shelter and assistance. 
 
(d) ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and 
Trafficking) and Save the Children. Both work with other 
NGOs to ensure that police treat juvenile sex workers as 
trafficking victims, not criminals. 
 
(e) Gruppo Abele and IROKE in Turin, the Orlando 
Association in Bologna, and Progetto Arcobaleno in Florence 
also have multiple projects to assist trafficking victims. 
 
PREVENTION 
- - - - - - 
 
27.A. The Ministry for Equal Opportunity has the lead in 
funding public awareness programs. NGOs continue to 
distribute materials updated on a regular basis, including 
brochures, posters, bumper stickers and TV/radio ads 
providing information and assistance to victims. A new ad 
campaign started in 2007. Equal Opportunity also 
established a toll-free hot line in 2000 to provide 
information and assistance to victims. In 2008, the hotline 
received almost 16,000 calls, 25 percent of which were 
relevant to the hotline's intended purpose. 
 
In 2007, the Ministry for Equal Opportunity identified 14 
focal points nationwide to implement public awareness 
campaigns for informing victims of protection programs and 
to solicit citizens to report trafficking cases. Social 
workers started calling sex workers and other potential 
victims to provide information about assistance programs. 
 
The Ministry of Equal Opportunity and some regional 
administrations completed two international projects 
designed to improve victims' assistance in Romania and 
Nigeria. In July, the Ministry signed an agreement with 
Romanian authorities aimed at promoting common initiatives 
to reintegrate victims in their local communities. In 2008, 
the Ministry of Interior implemented an 
outreach/information campaign in Albania and Greece 
targeted at high school students and local authorities. The 
Ministry of Interior also distributes a manual for law 
 
 
DIBBLE