Sofia BettizaGlobal Health Reporter in Trieste, Italy
BBC
Esther fled Lagos in 2016
Esther was sleeping on the streets of Lagos when a woman approached her with the promise of a route out of Nigeria to a job and a home in Europe.
She had dreamt of a new life, especially in the UK. Thrown out of a violent and abusive foster home, she had little to stay for. But when she left Lagos in 2016, crossing the desert to Libya, she had little idea of her traumatic journey ahead, forced into sex work and years of asylum claims in country after country.
The majority of irregular migrants and asylum seekers are men – 70% according to the European Agency for Asylum – but the number of women like Esther, who have come to Europe to seek asylum is on the rise.
“We are seeing an increase in women travelling alone, both on the Mediterranean and the Balkan routes,” says Irini Contogiannis from the International Rescue Committee in Italy.
Its 2024 report highlighted a 250% annual rise in the number of single adult women arriving in Italy on the Balkan route, while families grew by 52%.
Migrant routes are notoriously treacherous. Last year 3,419 migrant deaths or disappearances in Europe were recorded by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – the deadliest year on record.
But for women, there is the added threat of sexual violence and exploitation, which happened to Esther after she was betrayed by the woman who had promised her a better life.
“She locked me up in a room and brought in a man. He had sex with me, with force. I was still a virgin,” Esther says. “That’s what they do… travel to different villages in Nigeria to pick young girls, and bring them to Libya to become sex slaves.”
“Their experiences are different and often riskier,” Ugochi Daniels of the IOM told the BBC. “Even women travelling in groups often lack consistent protection, exposing them to abuse by smugglers, traffickers, or other migrants.”
Many women are aware of the risks but go anyway, packing condoms, or even getting contraceptive devices fitted in case they are raped on the way.
“All migrants have to pay a smuggler,” says Hermine Gbedo of the anti-trafficking network Stella Polare. “But women are often expected to offer sex as part of the payment.”
Ms Gbedo supports women migrants in Trieste, a port city in north-east Italy which has long been a crossroads of cultures and serves as a major entry point to the European Union for those crossing from the Balkans. From here, they continue to countries like Germany, France, and the UK.
Barbara Zanon/Getty Image
Most migrants who arrive in Trieste via the Balkan route are male
After four months of being exploited in Libya, Esther escaped and crossed the Medi
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