BRIGHT2

In Calabria and Puglia, ActionAid continues its commitment to safeguarding the rights of female agricultural workers. Thanks to the support of Chiesa Valdese, the BRIGHT 2 project is currently in progress, with the objective of improving access to welfare services (including psychosocial support, healthcare, legal assistance, training, and employment guidance) for 100 migrant women working in the southern regions of Italy (specifically Corigliano-Rossano and Castrovillari in Calabria, and Terlizzi and Grottaglie in Puglia). BRIGHT 2 will strengthen the collaboration network established by the European BRIGHT project, ensuring the continued operation of service centers in the Ionian Arc. These centers serve as hubs for collective analysis and response by women and communities to combat labor exploitation in the agricultural sector. Additionally, five community leaders, trained as Intercultural Mediation Technicians, will play a pivotal role in guiding other migrant women in reshaping local public services to better meet gender-specific needs and address cultural differences. This effort is crucial in combating the invisibility of migrant workers and advocating for their rights.

Agriculture is undergoing a period of increasing reliance on foreign female labor, especially in the Southern Italian Ionian region, stretching from Puglia to Calabria. Here, over 40% of agricultural enterprises in the provinces of Taranto, Matera, and Cosenza are concentrated. The number of foreign women residing in these areas totals 12,951 (ISTAT data elaborated by CREA in 2020), with at least 50% employed in agriculture. Additionally, many women work under opaque contractual conditions, remaining unregistered. The instability of their employment contracts, coupled with a lack of social mediation in welfare services and fragile institutional networks, makes these women invisible to authorities and exposes them to violence both within and outside their workplaces. When migrant women move to Italy, they often: (i) receive limited information about the host country, (ii) rely heavily on illegal labor intermediaries in their countries of origin, (iii) endure undignified working conditions, and (iv) are not intercepted by local Italian institutional networks designed to support them.