Paris Photographer Captures Plight of Nigerian Girls Tricked Into Prostitution in Italy

We often hear of sad and horrifying cases of young Nigerian girls taken to Europe, in most cases, Italy. The girls are promised jobs which they believe will help them to support their families at home, but upon arrival, their passports are siezed, they are abused and forced to work as as prostitutes. Unfortunately up until this day, human trafficking is still a very real issue in Nigeria.

This is the reason why a Paris-based photographer Elena Perlino who is from Italy, decided to capture the plight of the prostitutes in an article for the Daily Mail UK. “I decided to start from this surreal vision to tell a story. I have been working on the topic for several years, focusing mainly on the Italian connection.” she said. It is being alleged that traffickers demand on average $60,000 for travel expenses and accommodation, with the girls having to work as prostitutes until the debts are paid off. 80% of the women trafficked to Italy are said to come from Benin City, Edo.

Nigeria ranks among the top eight countries with the highest human trafficking rates in the world, according to the United Nations Office on drugs and crime. To read the full article, click here