In 2018, in Italy, for International Women’s Day, singer-songwriter Claudio Gnut got into a car, guitar in hand, and looked for women engaged in prostitution on the streets.
The idea was born as a tribute to those who, according to Fanpage.it, were the women least able to celebrate that date: many victims of trafficking and exploitation who lived without rights or freedom. The outlet cited the United Nations’ Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, which estimated that 21 million people were victims of trafficking or slavery, and that 59 % of identified victims were sexually exploited women.
The singer brought nothing but a song written for them: “Pigliati nu poco ‘e bene”, a serenade in Neapolitan that he composed specifically with their reality in mind.
“I wrote the song imagining myself inside that car. I said to myself… If I can distract them for three minutes, perhaps for a moment they will stop thinking about the drama they are going through”. Those were the singer’s words during the Concertiny podcast, to which he was invited.
@_the_jackal Gnut ospite dell’ultimo episodio di @Concertiny ci ha spiegato la storia di un famoso esperimento sociale che andò virale qualche anno fa, oltre a farci ascoltare la sua bellissima Nu Poco ‘e ben ❤️ Guarda l’episodio completo, link in bio 🔗 #concertiny ♬ audio originale – The Jackal
Fanpage.it documented every encounter and, although the sex workers were ready to begin their work, as the minutes passed they all had the same reaction: first surprise; then, the relief of discovering that for a few minutes no one wanted anything from them, only to give them a song.