IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joimai/v25y2024i3d10.1007_s12134-024-01123-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On Migrants’ Identification Issues In Italy: The Case Of Trafficked Women Within Mixed Migration Flows1

Author

Listed:
  • Francesca Cimino

    (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)

  • Paola Degani

    (University of Padova)

Abstract

In the framework of the mixed migration flows, the identification of the victims of trafficking in persons has become a delicate and challenging process, especially in the period 2015–2019, when the European Union experienced an unprecedented surge in migrant arrivals. Through a qualitative case study approach, the paper draws on interviews of street-level bureaucrats (Lipsky, 1980) responsible for the identification of potential or actual women victims of trafficking in persons within mixed migration flows2. The paper analyses how the European Union policies are implicated in the identification procedures adopted in Italy and to what extent a human rights-based and intersectional approach is applied in the Italian experience in 2015–2019. Issues related to the effective management of migration flows, including respect for the human rights of migrants and the prevention of discrimination for their treatment in terms of status, are closely intertwined with the process of early identification. The key findings were essentially threefold. First, a human rights-based approach – albeit with some critical issues – is applied during the identification procedures, as the multi-agency work is adopted as much as possible. Second, Italy did not completely implement some measures envisaged by the European Union policies, daunting early identification. Third, Italy seems to lack a comprehensive and coherent strategy, and policymaking is outsourced to a local policy network of agencies and institutions with their policy style. The paper sheds light on the need to change the approach used to identify victims of trafficking in persons.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Cimino & Paola Degani, 2024. "On Migrants’ Identification Issues In Italy: The Case Of Trafficked Women Within Mixed Migration Flows1," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1299-1324, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:25:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s12134-024-01123-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-024-01123-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12134-024-01123-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12134-024-01123-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Letizia Palumbo, 2015. "Protection of trafficked people in Italy: policies, limits and challenges," Journal of Money Laundering Control, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(1), pages 52-65, January.
    2. True, Jacqui, 2012. "The Political Economy of Violence against Women," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199755912, Decembrie.
    3. Smriti Rao & Christina Presenti, 2012. "Understanding Human Trafficking Origin: A Cross-Country Empirical Analysis," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 231-263, April.
    4. Marianne Marchand, 2008. "The Violence of Development and the Migration/Insecurities Nexus: labour migration in a North American context," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(7), pages 1375-1388.
    5. Gaëlle Ferrant & Michele Tuccio, 2015. "How do female migration and gender discrimination in social institutions mutually influence each other?," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 326, OECD Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Niklas Potrafke, 2016. "Policies against human trafficking: the role of religion and political institutions," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 353-386, November.
    2. Carmen Mañas & María A. Martínez & Francisca Burgueño, 2023. "Intimate Partner Violence in Vulnerable Contexts: A Case Study," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Seo-Young Cho, 2015. "Modeling for Determinants of Human Trafficking: An Empirical Analysis," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(1), pages 2-21.
    4. Anna K. Boucher, 2025. "Migrant sexual precarity through the lens of workplace litigation," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 458-472, January.
    5. Daniel Homocianu, 2023. "Exploring the Predictors of Co-Nationals’ Preference over Immigrants in Accessing Jobs—Evidence from World Values Survey," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-29, February.
    6. Yumna Asaf, 2017. "Syrian Women and the Refugee Crisis: Surviving the Conflict, Building Peace, and Taking New Gender Roles," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Jakobsson, Niklas & Kotsadam, Andreas, 2015. "The Economics of Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation," Memorandum 07/2015, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    8. Julia Guenther, 2015. "Gender and Globalization," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 31(1), pages 28-42, March.
    9. Andreas Kotsadam & Espen Villanger, 2025. "Jobs and Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ethiopia," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 60(2), pages 469-495.
    10. Martín-Gago Paula & Vives-Miró Sònia, 2023. "Patriarchal logics and gender inequalities through the financialization of housing," Miscellanea Geographica. Regional Studies on Development, Sciendo, vol. 27(3), pages 93-101, July.
    11. Abraham Maposa, 2025. "A Comparative Analysis of Gender-Based Violence Discourses: Insights for Strengthening Policy Implementation," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(2), pages 4290-4306, February.
    12. Maaret Jokela-Pansini, 2020. "Complicating notions of violence: An embodied view of violence against women in Honduras," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 38(5), pages 848-865, August.
    13. Jillienne Haglund & David L Richards, 2018. "Enforcement of sexual violence law in post-civil conflict societies," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 35(3), pages 280-295, May.
    14. Philomina Okeke-Ihejirika & Sophie Yohani & Claire McMenemy, 2018. "Support Programs for Women Survivors of Sexualized Gender-Based Violence From African Conflict Zones: A Contextual Review," SAGE Open, , vol. 8(2), pages 21582440187, June.
    15. Jenny Hedström & Elisabeth Olivius, 2020. "Insecurity, Dispossession, Depletion: Women’s Experiences of Post-War Development in Myanmar," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(2), pages 379-403, April.
    16. Lyndsay M. C. Hayhurst & Lidieth del Socorro Cruz Centeno, 2019. "“We Are Prisoners in Our Own Homes”: Connecting the Environment, Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights to Sport for Development and Peace in Nicaragua," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-29, August.
    17. Willert, Bianca, 2021. "Modern Slavery – An Empirical Analysis," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 167, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics, revised 2021.
    18. Samitha Udayanga, 2024. "Motherhood Penalty and Labour Market Integration of Immigrant Women: A Review on Evidence from Four OECD Countries," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, August.
    19. Dipti Tamang, 2013. "Gendering International Security," International Studies, , vol. 50(3), pages 226-239, July.
    20. Seo-Young Cho, 2015. "Modeling for Determinants of Human Trafficking: An Empirical Analysis," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(1), pages 2-21.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:25:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s12134-024-01123-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.