The International Organization for Migration has said that a high number of women and girls from Ivory Coast are being trafficked to Northern Africa and Europe. In a note to mark European Anti-Trafficking Day the IOM said there was an emerging trend of a rise in the number of women and girls crossing the Mediterranean. It said some of the women and girls being trafficked often end up being forced into slavery or prostitution. Smugglers then take advantage of these women “exploiting them upon their arrival to Italy, or other countries of the European Union”. In 2015, women and girls trafficked to Europe through north Africa made up just eight percent of the total number of Ivorians who landed at the shores of Italy.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 18, 2019 19:40 UTC