Netflix accused of glamorizing sex trafficking over Italian drama 'Baby'

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

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Netflix has been accused of glorifying sex trafficking after ordering an Italian drama based on the Baby Squillo teen prostitution scandal. The US-based National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) has called for an eight-part drama series. baby be deleted before its launch.

The SVOD service ordered the series, produced by Italian company Fabula Pictures, in November. It explores the lives of high school teenagers in Rome and is loosely based on a true story, the Baby Squillo scandal, which saw the husband of Mussolini's granddaughter implicated in a teenage prostitution racket in the neighborhood of Parioli. Mauro Floriani (pictured), the husband of Alessandra Mussolini, was accused of being one of 20 clients of teenage schoolgirls who sold themselves for sex.

However, in a letter to Netflix, NCOSE Vice President Lisa Thompson accused the channel of normalizing child abuse and said there were double standards after dropping Kevin Spacey from Card castle following allegations of sexual assault.

“Netflix recently fired Kevin Spacey…To turn around and produce a show that glorifies underage sex trafficking and call it 'edgy entertainment' is the height of hypocrisy,” she said. “There are no “baby prostitutes”, only children who are sexually abused, exploited and raped. »

“If Netflix executives care more about ending sexual exploitation in this #MeToo moment than profiting from themes of sexual exploitation, they will cancel production of this show immediately,” Thompson added.

The letter was sent to Netflix on Thursday, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and was co-signed by more than 50 activists, social service providers and survivors of sex trafficking.