More Nigerian women and asylum seekers being trafficked
Last year, the proportion of human trafficking victims who are also asylum seekers tripled in the Zurich region, according to annual figures released on Tuesday.
The FIZExternal link Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women association, located in Zurich city, handled 228 cases of human trafficking in 2017, according to its report, published on Monday.
The proportion of victims that were also asylum seekers rose from 10% to 34%, the report found.
This significant increase has also influenced the overall demographics of human trafficking. Since 2008, a clear majority of human trafficking victims in Zurich came from Hungary; however, the number of victims from Nigeria has increased steadily since 2016, and last year the West African country was on par with Hungary with 15% of new cases coming from each country.
Of the 228 cases handled by FIZ last year, 111 were new, and 117 concerned victims of previous years. Of the new cases, one third concerned asylum seekers, one tenth of them involving minors. Around one-quarter were involved in sex work.
In southern Switzerland, notably Lausanne, Nigerian women were again the most affected, and again a sizeable number were asylum applicants.
According to the Romandie Association for the Victims of Trafficking and Exploitation (ASTREE), of the 49 women helped by their canton Vaud branch, 11 were Nigerians, while 16 were asylum seekers. Some 37 of the women were victims of forced prostitution.
In Geneva, where the Protestant Social Centre released their figures, 38 women were helped last year, four of them from Nigeria.
More
More
Swiss ‘must do more’ against human trafficking
This content was published on
Switzerland needs to clamp down more strongly on people smuggling, as increased numbers of migrants are falling into the hands of unscrupulous trafficking gangs, a federal authorities report says.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
Swiss study: insects mainly migrate at midday and dusk
This content was published on
A study led by the Swiss Ornithological Institute in canton Lucerne is helping to better understand the movement patterns of migratory insects.
Red Cross: 22 staff killed in Middle East since October
This content was published on
The Red Cross and Red Crescent network in Gaza and Israel has lost 22 staff members since last October, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) said on Wednesday.
Dortmund’s Kobel is first Swiss goalie in Champions League final
This content was published on
Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel has achieved history by becoming the first Swiss goalkeeper to reach a Champion’s League final.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Cabinet doesn’t want to ban prostitution
This content was published on
The Swiss government says it is against outlawing prostitution or the buying of sexual services, but has proposed measures to better protect sex workers and to fight against human trafficking.
‘Insufficient’ support for Swiss human trafficking victims
This content was published on
Susanne Seytter, head of the FIZExternal link Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of Trafficking, points out that this was one of the targets of the action plan, announced by Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga on October 18, 2012. “The result is that support for victims of human trafficking is still fragmented and insufficient.…
This content was published on
Two brothels, one in a rural area of canton Schwyz and another in the picturesque town of Nidau in canton Bern, were raided simultaneously by police back in 2007. At least 23 women were found to be working under coercion, prosecutors say. One of Switzerland’s largest human trafficking scandals, the Bolenberg case finally came to…
This content was published on
Human trafficking “occurs in secret” in Switzerland, Sommaruga told the conference in Bern on Thursday. “We don’t see it. We’re hardly aware of it.” But according to the foreign ministry it is a very real problem, as evidenced by criminal investigations in Zurich in recent years. The plan sets out 23 specific measures to be…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.