here - Cooperazione Italiana allo Sviluppo

C H A P T E R V IT h e e n d o f t h e e x p l o i t a t i o n6.1 Extinction of the debt and the choice ofautonomyAs we have already mentioned, the extinction of the debt on the part of the girlsdoes not follow generalised and constant rules. From time to time, in fact theyvary: the amount of the debt, the reliability of the madam and the organisation inmaintaining the agreement, the means of payment.According to the testimony of the social operators and the Law Enforcement,the amount of the debt has considerably increased over the last years and today it isbetween a minimum of 30,000 Euros and a maximum of 70,000 Euros.Also variable is the amount of time necessary for the victim to extinguish thedebt. Testimony collected by the NGOs and associations interviewed speak about aperiod of between a minimum of one year and a maximum of three/four years.The earning capacity of the victim, her behaviour and above all her faithtowards the pact surely play an important role in accelerating the time forextinction. The unilateral review of the pact of the debt on the part of the madam,often related to a delay in the payments or to “bad behaviour” on the part of thegirl, is very frequent. The progressive increase in the debt seems to be a widelydiffused practise: it appears from the outside to be a penalty and has the effect ofincreasing the earnings of the organisation.“I should have paid 120 million (...) originally it was 60, then 70, then 80…then 90. (…) She was bad, she said I had earned quickly. She did not want me toleave” (Interview Victim No.10).In general, the impression from the direct and indirect testimony collected isthat the organisation attempts - with good results - to feed itself offering new workand earnings opportunities to the girls that are about to free themselves from thedebt, or are already freed. In this way, a fairly frequent result of the extinction ofthe debt is the transformation of the victim to madam. Naturally this is a gradualchange of role, in which the assumptions can be made even before the restitution ofthe debt.There are many cases of girls attracted by earnings from prostitution whocontinue this work for themselves for a year or two, often living with their exmadam, and then, with savings aside, buy one or two girls to exploit.