Tackling Trafficking and Exploitation in Italy: A Human Rights Lens on the Evolving Role of Street- Level Practitioners

The Italian “Anti-Trafficking System”, made by the services to support and assist people who are victims (or at risk) of trafficking and severe exploitation, has often been distinguished by its strong performance by implementing actors, as well as by the congruence with the original policy design in terms of actions and achievement of policy goals. The victim-centred approach, a core principle guiding the System’s work coherently with the human rights approach and standard, has also been adopted by regional and European-level policies, thus confirming its relevance and effectiveness. This article analyses the characteristics and functioning of the System, and consequently the working practices of professionals involved in the 21 projects implemented across the national territory, through the lens of the Street-Level Bureaucrats perspective. The paper focuses on the factors that have led to differentiated implementation of the same Programme over time, in response to changes within the target population and, more generally, in the dynamics of the phenomenon. These shifts have, in effect, triggered a reconfiguration of the regulatory framework underpinning the work of frontline workers.