Most women from sub-Sahara Africa in Italy do sex work-IOM

Abesim (B/A), Oct 03,
GNA – Most women from Sub-Sahara Africa entering Italy are trafficked for
sexual exploitation, an official of the International Organisation for
Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

According to Mrs.
Florence Kim, a Communication Expert at the IOM, the situation between Ghanaian
and Nigerian women was not very different, as many of them were engaged in
commercial sex work.

Human trafficking, she
added remained the worst form of crime against humanity, and called for
concerted effort and decisive action to arrest the situation especially in
sub-Saharan Africa.

Speaking at a media
workshop on migration at Abesim, near Sunyani, Mrs. Kim said the traffickers
entered into agreement with the victims and pay their travelling expenses
abroad.

On reaching abroad,
the trafficked women had to go into commercial sex work to enable them to pay
back their debt to their masters, she said.

The workshop, which
was jointly organised by the IOM and European Union (EU) and attended by about
30 selected Journalists was aimed at empowering the participants to report
accurately and vividly on migration.

It forms part of the
EU-IOM joint initiative for migrant protection and reintegration in Ghana.

Mrs. Kim said human
trafficking and irregular migration remained a global challenge and lauded the
Government of Ghana for her collaboration with the IOM to help reintegrate
migrants into the society.

Mr. Collins Yeboah, a
Community Outreach Assistant at the IOM, advised the media to intensify public
advocacy and campaign against irregular migration.

Irregular migrants, he
said went through serious human rights abuses and advised potential migrants to
pass through approved routes by ensuring the acquisition of genuine travelling
documents.

GNA