Abstract:
Human trafficking is the second most profitable illicit activity after trafficking in firearms and drugs, especially of women for sexual exploitation. In the last few decades, the issue of human trafficking has gained increasingly importance at a global level and many steps have been made to fight it. Starting from the UN Trafficking Protocol supplementing the Transnational Crime Convention of 2000, the need for a comprehensive approach that look at trafficked people as victims, involving new international and local actors along with States and law enforcement agents, has been required. Not only should States act through the prosecution and repression of offenders but also, they should commit themselves to effective protection and assistance measures for victims. In fact, human trafficking is a clear violation of human rights, dignity, and a real gender issue in the whole process of recruitment, transportation, and exploitation, especially for women and minors. The present work focuses on the systems of protection and assistance for sex trafficking victims provided by the International, European, and Italian law, with the aim of comparing them, emphasizing their development and effectiveness. It aims at understanding if the victims are at the centre of anti-trafficking policies nowadays or if the repressive approach to prosecute offenders is still the priority. To examine the analysis provided, a case study of the situation of Verona, in the North-East of Italy will be used.
