Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche n. 3/2020, pp. 337-370 On the Severe Forms of Labour Exploitation of Migrant Women in Italy: An Intersectional Policy Analysis Paola Degani and Francesca Cimino Although the EU made significant efforts in fighting against human trafficking, the identified victims are still few compared to the estimated number of exploited per- sons. According to some scholars, the political discourse and mainstream narrative of human trafficking contributed to give enormous attention to sexual exploitation and to the understanding of female migrants as a category particularly vulnerable, so avoiding to represent the real nature, figures and reality of mixed migration flows. This contribution analyses the causes and consequences of this choice demonstrat- ing, through the analysis of relevant literature and public policies, that the focus on some forms of exploitation has gendered the victims and the narrative on migration, thus reproducing discrimination against women rather than improving their human rights. Keywords: Women’s exploitation; Migration; Human rights; Intersectional policy analysis. 1. Introduction According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), forced labour is any work or service that is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not of- fered himself voluntarily (art. 2.1 of the 1930 Forced Labour Con- vention). The topic of forced labour, labour trafficking, and labour exploitation has always been a dramatic plague worldwide but in- deed poorly considered in the political and policy agenda of the gov- ernments. In 2017, ILO estimated 40.3 million people involved in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage. Out of the 24.9 million people stuck in forced la- bour, 16 million people are victims of exploitation in the private sec- tor such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million