Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. More Videos Trafficked for sex in Italy Story highlights Becky left Nigeria when she was 15, in search of the European dream She says her traffickers forced her into prostitution in Italy "I would not advise anybody to take the same journey I took," she says.
The temperature is just above freezing, but they are wearing shorts and strappy tops, burning open fires to warm themselves in the icy night air. Most stand alone, breaking away from their position only to flag each passing car. The women vying for customers on these streets are just some of the wave of Sub-Saharan migrants trafficked to Europe in hope of a better life. In , around 11, Nigerian women arrived in Italy by sea according to the International Organization for Migration.
Most are at risk of becoming victims of prostitution, the IOM says, a gruesome end to a journey during which many endured rapes, abuse, and a dangerous Mediterranean crossing in flimsy rubber boats. An orphan raised by a foster family, Becky worked as a maid for a wealthy woman in Nigeria, but dreamed of becoming a doctor. Her boss's daughter lived in Europe and Becky was charmed with stories of a better life there.
I was like, wow, that would be great. And she said, OK, maybe my sister can bring you. I was so happy, I wanted to go to Europe," she adds. The sex trafficking trail from Nigeria to Europe. Becky says her journey took her across Niger and into Libya, where she was held in a detention center for five months. She suffered repeated rapes at the hands of her jailers, who she says were Libyan militias. Her voice shakes as she describes how her attackers would slap her to wake her up, and sometime rape her in front of other migrants in the communal hall they all shared.
They rape you, they do whatever they want to do to you, you have no say, you have no choice," she says. After her trafficker paid a ransom to her captors Becky was freed, but her ordeal was far from over. She was pregnant, but says she lost her baby after being given a liquid to drink by her smuggler. I was in a lot of pain.
