Global
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"More than 20 million people, a conservative estimate, are victims of human trafficking" (US Dept of State, 2014)
Europe
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There is an estimated 1 million victims of commercial sexual exploitation (human sex trafficking) in Europe (UNODC, 2012)
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Only 1-2 percent of victims of commercial sexual exploitation are rescued (UN, 2009)
Italy
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Prostitution has been legal in Italy for over 50 years (since 1958) but is not regulated.
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Italy prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons and prescribes penalties of 8-20 years for offenders (US Dept of State, 2014).
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There are atleast 50,000 victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Italy today (TAMPEP, 2010) and up to 120,000.
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Italy is one of the top ten destination countries in the world for victims of human sex trafficking (CSE) (UNODC, 2012).
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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).
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9 million buyers purchase commercial sex monthly in Italy.
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According to estimates from the Italian Interior Ministry and police, 45% of Italian men purchace commercial sex acts at least once a year (Smith, 2003).
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The Italian government sharply decreased their protection efforts for victims of trafficking (US Dept of State, 2014).
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99% of migrant prostituted persons in Italy have traveled transnationally (TAMPEP, 2009).
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The majority of victims of trafficking in Italy are from Nigeria, Romania, and Brazil as well as other Eastern European and African countries.
**We have used the terms "victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE),"victims of human sex trafficking" and "prostituted persons," interchangeably in the statistics listed above. These and other terms ATR uses have been chosen carefully in an effort to describe the activity that is occurring (i.e. prostitution) accurately, without labeling the people involved or normalizing prostitution as if it is just like any other occupation. These terms also help express the idea that persons in the sex industry are caught up in the exploitive system of the prostitution industry.