Here is part of a story on the continued misuse of in this case Africian Women in the sex trade in Europe...

Using voodoo to enslave

Isoke Aikpitanyi, a former victim of trafficking and now the main reference point for Nigerian women in Italy, knows how this business is managed in Caserta's area. As she walks in Castel Volturno's historic centre, she explains: "Today in Italy there are almost 10,000 madams, each one in control of an average of two or three girls."

Madams are the key, she explains. They are the main actors in this exploitation. They force girls into prostitution and ask for money to repay the debt. They work with "brothers", men who are in charge of physically trafficking the "babies", as girls forced into prostitution are called.

But Nigerian human trafficking is often associated with drug smuggling and a distorted use of religious tradition.

The women and girls are often forced to undergo a Juju oath-swearing ritual that commits them to repaying the money they owe to their smugglers on pain of death or insanity.

"The Juju, the voodoo rite, it's not a bad practice. It was used to bring justice, but they ruined everything," says Isoke with anger. "They don't care how they make their money as far as they make it. They use Juju to enslave."

Even in this hell, there are people who try not to lose hope. Sister Antonia, a Nigerian nun of the Sacred Heart of Jesus order, manages a shelter, the Casa Santa Maria dell'Accoglienza, launched in 2000 in the Fernandes centre by the Capua-based Caritas. Here, more than 70 women have found a place to stay and 10 children have been born.

"We were called by the bishop of Capua, Mons. Bruno Schettino, to promote these girls' integration. They are all former prostitutes. If they want to change their lives, they know they'll always find a place here," Sister Antonia says.

The women can stay for between six months and a year, a period when they dedicate their time to education and "to gain[ing] their dignity back," explains Sister Antonia. The nuns give the girls the opportunity to write down their stories and explain what happened and who forced them into prostitution. 

"We try to make them understand that Juju won't have any effect on them," she says.

But we met girls who still work on the streets and believe in the agreements they made. Some of them have to repay debts of up to $58,000 and are still terrified of the powerful consequences of Juju on their families and themselves.

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