Traffickers force debt-ridden victims into life of prostitution

Date: 17/10/02

By Martin Banks

A VICTIM of human trafficking has told how she was beaten and warned she would be killed if she did not become a prostitute.

Speaking at a public hearing at the European Parliament, the 25-year-old woman,identified only as Joel, said she had been lured from her home in Mali with promises of starting a new life in the EU.

But, after arriving in Italy, she was told she owed 80 million lira (l 41,000) for the trip and would have to work as a prostitute to repay the 'debt'.

'At first, I fought against it but was beaten and told that if I didn't do as I was told I would be killed,' she said.

'They were like the Mafia and I was very afraid.

'I didn't want to work as a prostitute for the rest of my life so, after a while, I took a risk and went to the police.'

After finding work and a flat her life had now changed for the better.

'I am now trying to help other girls who are working as prostitutes and tell them it is possible to lead a normal life.'

The hearing on human trafficking, organised by the Group of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left to discuss ways of combating the trafficking of women, was attended by MEPs and experts from across Europe.

The United Nations estimates that illegal immigration is worth up to €70 million a year.

In the majority of cases, immigrants are willing to risk arrest - or even death - but the traffic in those who are kidnapped for sexual exploitation is growing.

Swedish MEP Marianne Eriksson said that Joel's ordeal illustrated the need for EU-wide action to stamp out trafficking of women. She said the authorities should focus not on the victims, but on their 'clients'.

'We need to look at why are women trafficked into the EU and who wants them to be trafficked.'Eriksson, deputy chairman of the Parliament's women's rights and equal opportunities committee, added: 'You cannot separate the issue of trafficking from prostitution.

'Trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery and a barbarous violation of human rights.

'Traffickers exploit the difficult economic circumstances of their victims and, like Joel, the victim's desperate search for a better future.'

Report of a European Parliament hearing on human trafficking.