PACKING: Protection of migrants and Asylum seekers especially Children and women coming from Nigeria and victims of trafficKING.

Discover the project

The general objective of the project is that rights of migrants are promoted and respected and migrants are protected from trafficking in human beings. The specific objective aims at preventing and eradicating human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers, especially children and women coming from Nigeria, and at risk of victims of trafficking in human beings. The project aims at supporting the implementation of the Palerme protocol (2000) and led by the French NGO ECPAT France.

The vulnerability of prospective victims is commonly due to prevalent poverty, high rate of unemployment, cultural norms that deprive children and girls a say in decision affecting them and ignorance. As a result, victims are easily deceived by agents who go around convincing girls and parents about the huge prospects of making it abroad. NGOs and journalists are reporting the increasing number of children (girls) and women migrating from Nigeria to Europe and coming from rural areas of Nigeria. They arrive in Italy by boat after a long trip through Nigeria, Niger and Lybia. They report the trauma of witnessing the death of travel mates. When they arrive, most of them, are already victims of a criminal network who will sexually exploit them in Europe and use elaborated coercive strategies to keep them under exploitation. Reality begins to dawn on the girls when they are being subjected to forced rituals and oaths.

Increased knowledge and awareness on the situation of children and women migrating from Nigerian to Europe will result in better prevention of trafficking situations, better protection during transit and lower risks of persecution in case of return. The action will therefore take place in Nigeria (Edo Central), a departure point for the migration route to Europe.

Method

• Methodologies

The project Packing is an interdisciplinary project which encompasses 5 Nigerian researchers: two historian, one anthropologist, one criminologist and one philosopher. The team of Nigerian researchers have all conducted long (minimum three months) fieldworks in Edo State. The overall objective of the project is to cross empirical data collected in Nigeria by the Nigerian research team with data collected in France by French and Nigerian, notably through the French NGO les amis du bus des femmes.

The Nigerian team of researchers are mostly from Edo State, speak Edo language and are familiar with the historical, cultural and social context in which the emerged the observed phenomena. They are also specialists of the issues of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in Nigerian and have led for several years their own research on the topic.

• Schedule

Duration: 2 years January 2017 to March 2019

Team members

Scientific coordinator for the Nigerian research team: Dr. Elodie Apard, director of IFRA-Nigeria

Publications (E-papers)

Associated events

• Conference for the restitution of the research project PACKING, March 7, 2019 at Paris City Hall, France

Partners

PACKING Project is co-funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) of the European Union and is coordinated by the NGO ECPAT France.

ECPACT France: http://ecpat-france.fr/

Les amis du bus des femmes (France):