Preventing and redressing exploitation. Methods of anti-trafficking social work outreach in Northern Italy

ABSTRACT

This contribution presents the strategies enacted by anti-trafficking outreach workers as jointly codified with the authors in the context of project FARm (www.project-farm.eu). The project aimed at identifying and addressing root causes of labour exploitation in agriculture in Northern Italy, by activating networks of local stakeholders in the generation of knowledge and preventive interventions. It addressed four topics: a. emersion of exploitation, b. inclusion of persons exploited or at risk, c. labour intermediation and d. self-regulation of enterprises. As part of the first topic, practitioners in social professions working in anti-trafficking organisations, identified four stages of outreach work for the emersion of persons exploited or at risk: a. contact and engagement of persons potentially exploited; b. needs/resources analysis and service pact; c. bridging between beneficiaries and services; d. formal identification of severe exploitation and referral pathways. With particular attention to multi-agency work and bridging services amidst a fragmented welfare system, this contribution frames the documented strategies among current reflections on outreach social work and underline its transformative potential in anti-trafficking efforts. Documenting intervention methodologies against trafficking in human beings, is a first step to enable an evaluation of their effectiveness, and to promote concerted efforts in this area.

ABSTRACT

Questo contributo presenta le strategie messe in atto dagli operatori di bassa soglia nel contesto anti-tratta, codificate dalle autrici in modo partecipativo con gli operatori stessi, nel contesto del progetto FARm (www.project-farm.eu). Il progetto mirava a identificare e affrontare le cause profonde dello sfruttamento lavorativo in agricoltura nel Nord Italia, attivando reti di stakeholder locali nella generazione di conoscenze e interventi preventivi. Il progetto affrontava quattro temi: a. emersione dello sfruttamento, b. inclusione delle persone sfruttate o a rischio, c. intermediazione del lavoro e d. autoregolamentazione delle imprese. Nell’ambito del primo tema, gli operatori sociali nelle organizzazioni anti-tratta in Veneto, Lombardia e Trentino-Alto Adige hanno individuato quattro fasi del lavoro di prossimità per l’emersione delle persone sfruttate o a rischio: a. contatto e coinvolgimento delle persone potenzialmente sfruttate; b. analisi dei bisogni/risorse e patto di servizio; c. collegamento tra beneficiari e servizi territoriali; d. identificazione formale del grave sfruttamento e percorsi di referral. Con particolare attenzione al lavoro multi-agenzia e alla assistenza nell’accesso ai servizi in un sistema di welfare frammentato e difficile da navigare, questo contributo inquadra tali strategie nel contesto delle attuali riflessioni sull’outreach sociale, e ne sottolinea il potenziale trasformativo negli sforzi anti-tratta. Documentare le metodologie di intervento contro la tratta di esseri umani è un primo passo per consentire una valutazione della loro efficacia e per promuovere sforzi concertati in questo settore.

KEYWORDS:

• Trafficking in human beings
• outreach
• migrants
• Northern Italy

PAROLE CHIAVE:

• Tratta di esseri umani
• assistenza di prossimità
• migranti
• Italia settentrionale

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the significant contribution of social professionals working in Anti-Trafficking Organisations (ATOs) active in Veneto, Trentino Alto-Adige and Lombardia in the co-construction of the knowledge represented in this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Abbreviations used in this work: ATOs are ‘anti-trafficking organizations’; THB is ‘trafficking in human beings’, which is considered synonym of ‘trafficking in persons’ and ‘human trafficking’; NGOs are ‘non-governmental organizations’, FAMI is ‘Fondo Asilo e Migrazione’ (Asylum and Migration Fund), a program co-financed by the Italian Government and the European Union, which funded FARm.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Franca Zadra

Franca Zadra is a researcher and contract professor in the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, in the area of social sciences, working on migration studies. Recent research topics include the social innovation of healthcare systems for greater accessibility to migrant patients, and collaborative networks to prevent the severe exploitation of agricultural labour in Northern Italy. In the last years, she has spent research periods at Gent University, at Bielefeld University, and at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy in Munich.

Susanne Elsen

Susanne Elsen, PhD is full professor for Social Sciences at the Free University of Bozen- Bolzano. Her special interests in research, teaching and practice focus on transformative research, community development as well as social and solidarity economy. She is currently working on developing sustainability transition research in social work, on the question of illegal and exploitative labour in Northern Italian agriculture and on social farming on mafia-confiscated properties in Southern Italy.