Once a girl wishes to exit the life of prostitution, escape her traffickers and avoid deportation for being an illegal immigrant, she agrees to cooperate with an NGO and enter the reintegration program.

There is then a six-month “grace-period” if you will, in which the girl receives a “permit of stay”, begins accessing services offered by Article 18 and cooperating with the prosecution. Because this is Italy there are no clear time parameters, everything just kind of happens, or doesn’t. The reintegration program is a minimum of six months more or less and can be extended for up to two years, more or less.

Article 18 and the famous reintegration program means the following services are provided: protective shelter and enrollment in Italian language and professional training courses (which vary considerably based on the girl). If, which is never the case, the girl is fluent in Italian and educated then she can be rushed through the program and given a permit to work in no time.

The classes require regular attendance with no pay. Employers receive special benefits (not sure what) for offering short-term apprenticeships to the girls. The types of training the girls receive are in: cleaning, restaurant work, factory work, and maybe cultural mediation.

Most Nigerian girls that went through the program found jobs in hotels. Of all Nigerian cases: 34% achieved autonomy. So what happened to the majority of cases? For one answer, please see Part IIA: A permit to stay=A ticket to Norway