Victims of Human Trafficking in Italy: a Judicial Perspective

This article presents quantitative and qualitative information about victims of human trafficking in Italy. It does so from the point of view of Italian judicial activities and draws on information from various sources: statistics on criminal proceedings, judicial cases from the Italian public prosecutors' offices handling the largest volume of prosecutions for human trafficking, and interviews with investigating magistrates of these offices and NGOs. The first part of the article provides a quantitative analysis of criminal proceedings brought against traffickers in Italy between June 1996 and June 2001. Particular attention is paid to the victims of trafficking. It considers their nationalities and their geographic distribution in the country and an attempt is made to estimate their number on the basis of judicial data. In the second part a qualitative analysis of recent judicial cases on human trafficking is provided, the purpose being to draw up profiles of the victims and identify current trends. Finally, the article deals with the role of victims as collaborators in proceedings brought against traffickers in Italy. It considers the systems in place to assure their presence at trials as witnesses and the degree of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and NGOs in this field.