'DO UT DES' - An anthropological study on the agendas of 'anti'-trafficking measures in Italy

Abstract: Trafficking in human beings is a topic that has received a lot of attention the last ten years. It has been referred to as a modern form of slavery and a crime against humanity. There is a flood of actors working to fight trafficking and save its victims, occupied with different forms of victim assistance. At the same time the EU is augmenting restrictions on visas and asylum legislation, border controls and deportation, which makes migrants from certain countries who wish to travel to Europe despite these restrictions vulnerable to exploitation. Italy has been acknowledged for providing the best practice of protection for ‘victim of trafficking’, since it offers a residence permit developed especially for identified ‘trafficking victims’. Claiming victimhood is often the only way for irregular migrant women in the sex industry to obtain a legal status in contemporary Italy. However, the category and its legal and social benefits are out of reach to many. It is not possible to just claim to be a victim but one must do so by surrendering to certain ideas about what constitutes a ‘victim of trafficking’ and provide what it expected. This study will examine the interconnection between migration management and trafficking anthropologically, with a focus on ‘anti’-trafficking measures in Italy and the concept of victimhood in the practices who take on the women in the process of obtaining the legal status of ‘victims of trafficking’ and the following residence permit. By looking at trafficking from a structural perspective I will show how the ‘victim of trafficking’ is created, and how it is connected to the state and its migration policies.