Publication

This article addresses continental African dispersals to Europe, highlighting the trafficking in West African (especially Nigerian) women to Italy as part of the global sex trade. It positions documentary film representations of these sex workers in dialogical relation to 19th century discourses of black sexuality to assess historical and geographical continuities. The author then addresses the extent to which women can be both victims and exercise agency. Finally, the author critiques a British television documentary on the politics of illegal immigration in Italy that highlighted the status of trafficked Nigerian sex workers and smuggled Albanian migrant men.