Against exploitation and human trafficking, Naples takes to Piazza Garibaldi to say "enough"

Naples—"Naples does not traffic!" This powerful message resonates today in Piazza Garibaldi, where from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Garibaldi Gate is hosting a citywide event marking the 19th European Day Against Human Trafficking. A morning of discussion, listening, and information dedicated to prevention, awareness-raising, and guidance on protection and assistance services for victims of trafficking and exploitation.

The initiative is promoted by Dedalus Cooperativa Sociale, together with the operators of the #FuoriTratta project and the Mobile Unit, as part of the "La Bella Piazza" program—a public-private co-management model for the spaces in Piazza Garibaldi supported by the Fondazione Con il Sud and a network of local institutions and foundations.

Trapanese: "Dignity is not a commodity, freedom is not negotiable."

Also present at the meeting was Luca Trapanese, Councilor for Social Policies for the City of Naples, who reiterated the administration's commitment to combating all forms of exploitation:
"Naples is a city that refuses to turn a blind eye to human trafficking," he declared. "It is a wound we want to combat with all means. With the Naples Does Not Traffic project and with the network of professionals who work alongside victims every day, we want to forcefully assert that dignity is not a commodity and that freedom cannot be negotiated. We will continue to support all approaches to reception, protection, and reintegration, because only a community that recognizes everyone's rights can truly call itself free and just."

Twenty-five years of fighting human trafficking

The Neapolitan event is part of a broader framework: the 25th anniversary of the National Anti-Trafficking System, a network of interventions coordinated by the Department for Equal Opportunities that makes Italy a pioneer in Europe in protecting victims and combating traffickers.

To mark this anniversary, the national network of Anti-Trafficking Projects and the National Anti-Trafficking Helpline launched the #liberailtuosogno campaign, which is currently hosting events and demonstrations throughout Italy.

Di Martino: "Making visible what remains hidden"

"This day," explains Paola Di Martino, coordinator of the Fuori Tratta project in Campania, "is designed to reach as many citizens as possible to spread knowledge and awareness. Trafficking is a phenomenon that remains too hidden, as are the stories of those involved. It's important to raise awareness that there are rights and concrete tools to escape from conditions of exploitation and violence."

Over the past ten years, Italian projects have identified over 22.500 victims, and more than 8.000 people have been able to access assistance and social inclusion. However, the numbers also reveal an evolution of the phenomenon: labor exploitation is growing, and the forms of sexual exploitation are changing, becoming increasingly difficult to identify.

Naples on the front line

With "Naples Does Not Negotiate!", the city renews its membership in a national network that has been fighting third-millennium slavery for a quarter of a century. A battle waged daily in reception centers, on the streets, and in workplaces, and which today—in Piazza Garibaldi—finds its symbol: a community that chooses not to look the other way.