Trafficking for the purpose of prostitution is characterized by crimes such as kidnapping, detention, rape, sexual enslavement, forced prostitution, beatings, denial of medical care, seizure of identity documents, and restriction of personal freedom, which constitute serious violations of fundamental human rights. Moreover, it generally relies on the exploitation of a particular condition of vulnerability experienced by women, especially if they are young, lack strong family ties, and come from poor areas, and therefore these acts may qualify as acts of persecution pursuant to Article 8(d) of Legislative Decree No. 251/2007, as they relate to membership of a "particular social group" composed of members who share an innate characteristic or common history that cannot be changed, in this case, being female. In other words, merely by this membership, the person is inherently vulnerable—even though the degree of vulnerability depends on the social, familial, and individual context—and is exposed to a form of violence that, as recognized by the aforementioned Istanbul Convention, reflects historically unequal power relations between the sexes, which have led to the domination of women and discrimination against them by men and hindered their full emancipation, recognizing the structural nature of gender-based violence. Furthermore, in certain social contexts, victims of trafficking, instead of being helped, may be further discriminated against and subjected to abuse based on membership in an even narrower group within the female gender, namely women who have engaged in prostitution, even if coerced or deceived. The particular vulnerability resulting from being a trafficking victim entails social and economic disadvantage which, in certain contexts—reconstructable through appropriate and relevant information pursuant to Article 8 of Legislative Decree No. 25/2008—may constitute an obstacle to exercising fundamental rights, such as obtaining work, feeding oneself, or maintaining or establishing family relationships. Therefore, if a person who has already been trafficked faces, in the event of return, the risk of severe attacks on her physical and psychological integrity, freedom, and dignity, based on her female gender, including not only the risk of being trafficked again but also of being severely discriminated against by the social context or subjected to abuse due to the particular vulnerability resulting from trafficking, it must be concluded that the requirements for recognition of refugee status—and not subsidiary protection—are met.
Project funded by the European Union's Citizens,