Unaccompanied Romanian children exploited in Rome

A recent report by NGOs Fundajia Romana Pentru Copii Communitate Si Familie and Casa Dei Diritti Sociali Focus and sponsored by the international NGO Terre Des Hommes has shown that many hundreds of children are being trafficked into prostitution, begging and forced labour in Rome.
One girl said;
“I was alone, my mum died and my father left to go to live with another woman.
When I was 15 years old I decided to leave to Rome with my aunt who was already living there and came to Romania during the holidays. She told me she would help me to find a job and she paid my journey to Italy. Once we arrived here my aunt found me a job as a cleaner in a private house. She took all my money, telling me she had to pay the rent and buy me food. After two months she told me that the money I was earning was not enough and that I had to leave her house. She took me to a house where there were two other Romanian girls and one boy. She left me there and disappeared. I never thought she could leave me alone. The girls in the house were always sleeping with different men. They made me do the same thing in order to pay for rent and food. I stayed there for about four months then one of my friends helped me to escape. He was also Romanian and helped me go to the police and denounce them”.
The report concluded that of the 5101 unaccompanied minors accounted for in Rome in 2003, 47% were from Romania. The report also noted a shift from begging as one of the main activities to prostitution, with younger children moving towards petty crime. Although the report commends the anti-trafficking activities of both Italy and Romania, it strongly urges the two countries to co-ordinate their efforts to protect Romanian children who are still being exploited in large numbers in the Italian capital.