Worldwide:

• There are approximately 27 million victims of human trafficking for sex and labor in the world today (U.S. State Dept, 2012).

• Only 1-2 percent of victims of commercial sexual exploitation are rescued (UN, 2009)

​​

Europe:

• There are an estimated 1 million victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Europe (UNDOC, 2012).

 

Italy:

• Prostitution has been legal in Italy for over 50 years (since 1958), but not regulated.

• There are as many as 120,000 commercial sexually exploited persons in Italy today. (Associazione Giovanni 23imo, 2016)

• Italy is reported to have the largest number of identified and presumed victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in all of the EU (Eurostat, 2015)

• Italy is one of the top ten destination countries in the world for victims of human sex trafficking (CSE) (UNDOC, 2012)

• Out of all the countries in the world, one study lists Italy as having the third highest percentage of men who purchase commercial sex acts (ProCon.org, 2004).

• According to estimates from the Italian Interior Ministry and police, 45% of Italian men purchase commercial sex acts at least once a year (Smith, 2003)

• Italy is one of the main ports of entry for thousands of migrants looking for a better future in Western Europe (Dept. of Equal Opportunity in Italy).

• 99% of migrant sex workers in Italy have traveled transnationally (TAMPEP, 2009).