Thousands of Nigerian women forced into prostitution were left to starve by sex traffickers during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy, with many turning to the Catholic Church for help with the basic necessities to survive.

“They’d call us in sheer desperation and panic,” says sister Valeria Gandini, a Combonian missionary, who for more than ten years has assisted Nigerian victims of sex trafficking in Sicily. “Many were left home alone with small children and no food. From the beginning of the lockdown, we delivered groceries to their doorstep, given that face-to-face meetings were not allowed. When the government started easing up on the restrictions, they started coming to our church in search of food.”