Minors forced into sex at Italian-French border-report

(ANSA) - Rome, July 27 - Minors are being forced to have sex to cross the French-Italian border at Ventimiglia or to obtain food and shelter, according to a new report by Save the Children. The report said that in most cases the 'survival sex' victims were girls from the Horn of Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa who have to pay between 50 and 150 euros to 'passeurs' to cross the border via car. "These girls are very young and especially vulnerable because they are part of a big invisible flow of unaccompanied migrants in transit at the north Italian border who, while attempting to reach their relatives or acquaintances in other European countries and unable to use safe, legal paths, are exposed to great risks of abuse and exploitation," said Save the Children's Raffaela Milano. The report estimated that almost 10 million children and adolescents were forced into a state of slavery worldwide in 2016, meaning they were sold and exploited for work and-or sex.