The Government of Italy fully meets the minimum standards
for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to
demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting
period; therefore Italy remained on Tier 1. The government
demonstrated serious and sustained efforts by improving
coordination among government agencies, international
organizations, and NGOs in identification of trafficking victims
upon arrival of irregular migrants by sea; increasing funding
for NGOs providing shelter and other assistance to victims;
providing greater protections for unaccompanied minors; and conducting more investigations of trafficking crimes.
Although the government meets the minimum standards, many
victims among vulnerable groups went unidentified, especially
individuals in prostitution and migrants at reception centers.
Government-supported NGOs remained underfunded in light
of the need. The government did not take significant action at
the national level to reduce demand for commercial sex and
did not report on sentences courts gave convicted traffickers.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ITALY
Implement guidelines under the national plan to improve
identification of possible trafficking victims among both
migrants and asylum-seekers; increase the level of coordination
among national, regional, and local governments toward
ensuring adequate funding and support for investigations of
trafficking and care of survivors; vigorously investigate and
prosecute trafficking cases, and convict and sentence traffickers
with dissuasive sentences; provide increased language and
cultural interpretation for new arrivals, particularly for lesserknown
African languages; consistently train law enforcement,
migration officers, first responders, and other officials across all
regions and localities on identification and referral procedures;
improve specialized services and long-term care for child victims;
improve the national coordination structure to engage all
relevant public bodies and NGOs, and compile comprehensive
data on identification of victims, investigations, prosecutions,
convictions and sentencing, disaggregated between sex and
labor trafficking cases, and disclose the information to the
public; increase international cooperation with source and
transit countries, especially Nigeria, on information sharing
and countering trafficking rings; increase prevention measures
to reduce the demand for commercial sex and vigorously
enforce related existing criminal laws at local levels; and
expand nationwide awareness-raising activities on all forms
of trafficking.
