“More Than One Million Pains”: Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys on the Central Mediterranean Route to Italy

Every year since 2014, tens of thousands of refugees and migrants have traveled the central Mediterranean route to Italy, one of the most active and dangerous migration passageways in the world. Along the way, many experience kidnapping, exploitation, extortion, and enslavement. Large numbers die in the desert, are confined to hellish detention centers in Libya, or drown at sea. Litle is known about the men and boys who undertake this journey. These knowledge gaps are of concern, given that an estimated 87.5 percent of refugees and migrants who have entered Italy via the central Mediterranean route since 2016 are men and boys, the latter of whom are largely unaccompanied.

Key wordsgender based violence / sexual violence / sexual violence against boys / sexual violence against men

CountriesGlobal / italy

CategoryPublication