POLICY RESPONSES TO CHILD TRAFFICKING IN ITALY. THE CASE OF THE ITALIAN NATIONAL ACTION PLAN IN THE EXPERIENCE OF THE COOPERATIVE DEDALUS, NAPLES.

Human trafficking is one of the most lucrative criminal businesses that preys on the world’s most marginalized persons. Children with a dysfunctional family or deprived of parental care are in even more vulnerable positions to be trafficked. Child trafficking is a global issue that requires a global response. States that have signed up to obligations deriving from international and European legislation are obliged to give effect to the provisions introduced through measures of policy design in the form of National Anti-Trafficking Action Plans. Italy implemented these regulations by adopting the first National Action Plan against trafficking and serious exploitation of human beings in 2016. Since then, however, the phenomenon of trafficking has evolved and requires a new Plan that can address the new emerging needs. The aim of this research is to analyse the policy response to child trafficking in Italy through the “multi-level governance” approach to anti-trafficking action of the National Action Plan, which involves different levels of responsibility. In addition to the national level represented by the Department for Equal Opportunities, anti-trafficking projects are also developed and funded at the regional and local level. In fact, beyond the international definition, governmental and non-governmental actors often approach human trafficking from different perspectives, which help shape national laws and policies, thus helping to address its full complexity and dynamics and to consider the specific needs and vulnerabilities of children. For this reason, the experience of the Dedalus Social Cooperative (based in Naples) serves us to outline the effectiveness of the Italian policies for the protection of victims and how to improve the more general framework of policies at regional and national level. By using the method of the “Swot analysis”, this scope is reached through interviews with three operators working in the Cooperative, considering their point of views for the enhancement of local and national policies. This is of great importance since the model of local cooperatives, if renewed, can play a leading role in transforming and relaunching the idea of a welfare system centred on rights, citizenship, and participation, through the improvement of people's living conditions. Yet, trafficking can occur across international borders, but also within a country. In addition to considering the phenomenon of child trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the territory of Naples, also the issue of child labour is analysed, since it can deteriorate into child trafficking given their similar determinants. The present dissertation analyses the phenomenon starting from the socio-economic and socio-demographic characteristics of that specific context. The phenomenon of trafficking is in continuous evolution, it is therefore necessary to create adequate tools for observation and monitoring which will be able to provide an updated and detailed study to support the definition of policies and to contribute to plan targeted interventions responses to be put in place. In this respect, the monitoring of Italian policies on trafficking, through the GRETA monitoring mechanism and other human rights bodies, is also provided, in order to have an additional basis (beyond the experience of Dedalus' professionals) on which to develop the next Italian National Action Plan against trafficking.