An Overlooked Crisis: Trafficking and sexual, and gender-based violence against displaced women in Italy

According to UNHCR data, 10% of the displaced people who arrived in Italy in 2018 were women while 18% were minors. Most of these women and girls have experienced multiple forms of violence during their journeys, often continuing in Italy. These individuals are rarely identified or supported, and most of them do not receive timely medical support for their sexual and reproductive health. During the Covid-19 lockdown in Italy, the situation for women and girls suffering from SGBV or THB deteriorated further due to government-enforced restriction of movement. Women suffering from trafficking have been left largely to fend for themselves. This report sheds light on this overlooked crisis, based on a detailed desk review as well as interviews with the NGO Differenza Donna, founded in Rome in 1989 to expose, combat, prevent and overcome gender-based violence.