

Nigerian Confraternities and the Increase in Human Trafficking Across Europe
By Debbie Ariyo Introduction Standing on a roadside trying to flag down a taxi near Termini Station in Rome, Italy some years ago, the harsh reality of the humongous scale of Nigerian human trafficking for sexual exploitation in Europe was brought straight home to me....

How The Reframing of Migration as Trafficking Affects Migrant-Sending Communities in West Africa
As far back as the 1980s during my undergraduate years at the University of Benin in Benin City, Bendel State (now divided into Edo and Delta States) Nigeria, female students were leaving the university to migrate to Italy for work. During this period, Nigeria was experiencing a terrible economic downturn. There were national debates whether Nigeria should take on a huge IMF loan and the consequence this would have on citizens, as the government introduced “austerity measures” to address the crumbling economy.

Children In Ghana’s Fishing Sector: If We Dont Understand Slavery, We Cannot Help Its Victims
In May and June 2019, I visited Ghana as the first part of my 2019 Winston Churchill travel fellowship. My aim was to better understand the various drivers of child trafficking in Ghana’s fishing sector and to explore some of the responses on the ground by engaging with a range of government agencies, NGOs and those working to support children who have been rescued.

Cries of the Youth: Addressing Gun and Knife Crime in Manchester
There has been a sharp rise in crime involving the use of guns and knives in Manchester. The Greater Manchester Police, have reported that in the first quarter of 2019, there were around 787 recorded crimes involving the use of a knife. This includes threatening behaviour and possession of such weapons.