Abstract

Although the EU made significant efforts in fighting against human trafficking, the identified victims are still few compared to the estimated number of exploited persons. According to some scholars, the political discourse and mainstream narrative of human trafficking contributed to give enormous attention to sexual exploitation and to the understanding of female migrants as a category particularly vulnerable, so avoiding to represent the real nature, figures and reality of mixed migration flows. This contribution analyses the causes and consequences of this choice demonstrating, through the analysis of relevant literature and public policies, that the focus on some forms of exploitation has gendered the victims and the narrative on migration,thus reproducing discrimination against women rather than improving their human rights.