Rocío Mora-Nieto

Rocío Mora-Nieto has worked for over two decades to combat the sexual exploitation of women and sex trafficking in Spain.

For 26 years, Rocío Mora-Nieto has dedicated her efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of women and, since the 1990s, sex trafficking in Spain through her work as director of the Association for the Prevention, Reintegration and Assistance of Prostituted Women (APRAMP). An outstanding and passionate activist, she has led APRAMP to be a pioneer in the implementation of strategies aimed at improving coordination between the judiciary, state security forces, and the national government, which has resulted in an effective blow against criminal organizations responsible for sex trafficking in Spain.

As APRAMP's director, Mora has implemented a comprehensive victim-centered approach, which is reflected in APRAMP’s mobile unit. Those with lived experience help run the mobile units, and they are able to effectively identify and approach potential trafficking victims. In addition, APRAMP has a 24-hour hotline, short-term shelters, multidisciplinary care centers, witness protection resources, legal advice, psychological support, a job education center, and self-employment workshops.

During the three months of Spain’s lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, under Mora’s leadership, APRAMP quickly redirected its efforts toward the detection of new spaces where commercial sex was happening. Doing so allowed the organization to continue connecting with potential trafficking victims, now hidden in private apartments and clandestine areas instead of clubs and brothels, which had been ordered to close due to the lockdown along with all other public spaces. As a result, APRAMP was able to remain active in reporting on sex trafficking trends, thus providing strategic information to other relevant stakeholders. During the pandemic, APRAMP also created intervention guides that set the standard for recent government guidelines for serving victims of trafficking.