Nigerian NGOs Confront the Trafficking of Girls to Italy (2000)This series of On the Record profiles a campaign by the Women’s Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) to halt the trafficking of women from Nigeria to Italy. WOCON was established in 1997 by a prominent Nigerian women’s leader, Olabisi Olateru-Olagbegi, and played a leading role at the Rome Conference to establish the International Criminal Court. In 1999 WOCON asked AP to visit Nigeria and profile its campaign. An AP team comprising Iain Guest, Teresa Crawford and Siglinde Friedman travelled to Nigeria on April 27 2000. The team worked mainly in Edo State, where most of the trafficked women were recruited. While the main aim of the mission was to publicize and expose the scandal, AP and WOCON also developed a joint package of support and greatly expanded WOCON’s network of international contacts. |
