Outreach social work with youth victims of human trafficking in Italy: An intersectional approach

Abstract

This study uses a qualitative approach to capture the personal experiences of five former victims of international human trafficking in the city of Verona (Italy), who were sexually exploited during their teenage years and their young adult lives. The aim of the research was to explore the intersecting factors that prevent victims of sexual exploitation from seeking help and turning to services and therefore define the implications and needs for social work interventions, while suggesting possible directions for future research. Along with the analysis related to preventing help seeking factors, attention was also paid to the dynamics of violence inherent in the condition of victimization, and vulnerabilities prior to trafficking. With the aim of contribute to the development and implementation of social work outreach activities to reduce human trafficking victimization, it has been necessary to consider the intersectional approach, which considers the multiplicity and intersectionality of factors such as gender, nationality, age, socioeconomic status; that was found to contribute to the very core of vulnerability to human trafficking and are analyzed within this context as structures of inequality and power relations. This study solely focuses on victims of sexual exploitation, as it turned out to be the most prevalent type of human trafficking in the world, mostly involving women and children. Incorporating evidence from structured interviews with five former sex trafficking victims and with two outreach workers, this study provided better insights into the underlying motivations that prevent victims of sexual exploitation from seeking help and turning to organizations that can help them. Intersectional approach allowed not only to proceed methodologically, but also to thoroughly understand the multidimensionality of the subject matter. The results further highlighted that both the vulnerability elements that initially lead to victimization and the gender based violence dynamics present at the time of sexual exploitation were interrelated and were at the root of victims of sexual exploitation refusal for help. Finally, useful insights were revealed for the improvement of social services working with victims of sex trafficking, particularly with regard to micro and mezzo social work.