The Italian National Hotline in Aid of Victims of Trafficking and Exploitation wants to raise awareness by ideally uniting the initiatives organised by various entities in different territories, thanks to the work of the Italian Anti-Trafficking Projects. This is made possible by the creation of the hashtag #LIBERAILTUOSOGNO ("Free your dream!"), used by all the realities involved in the initiatives. The hashtag refers to the liberation of thousands of women, men and minors who are transferred every day - either by deception or by taking advantage of their vulnerability - from their country of origin to another to be exploited in different sectors (e.g. prostitution, online sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced criminal economies, forced marriages, illegal international adoption or organ trafficking).
Human trafficking during the pandemic increased in particular in online sexual exploitation and labour exploitation. Recently, the OSCE Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey, also highlighted emerging trafficking trends revealed by the OSCE 2021 Survey Report. These include trafficking for online sexual abuse (e.g. online pornography), increased risks of online child exploitation, a substantial increase in forced crime and forced begging, and trafficking for sham marriages. "There is an urgent need for greater political will on the part of OSCE participating States to increase investment and address this large-scale global scourge."
Italian initiatives can be found at this link
