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Ivanka Trump asks trafficked women what US can do to help

ROME (AP) - Ivanka Trump met Wednesday met with a group of African women who were trafficked into Italian prostitution rings, a private encounter said to have moved her to tears.

Trump visited the Rome headquarters of the Sant'Egidio Community, a Catholic humanitarian organization that serves the poor, the elderly and migrants, after a morning visit to the Vatican.

Sant'Egidio official Daniela Pompei said the closed-door encounter lasted 40 minutes and Trump asked the 10 African women for suggestions on what the U.S. government, led by her father, can do to help others like them.

Trump, who serves as adviser to her father, "listened very carefully to all the stories, but she also asked some questions," Pompei said after their guest had departed. Trump and others who heard the accounts "were moved to tears."

"She asked what could be done on a government and legislative level, but also what could be done to stop human trafficking, especially of women," Pompei said.

Trump told reporters before the meeting she was eager to meet these "remarkable women, who are testament to strength, faith, perseverance in the face of unspeakable adversity and challenge."

Ivanka Trump has held meetings at the White House on human trafficking.

The women she met with Wednesday, most of them from Nigeria, have been freed from their traffickers. Some of them praised an Italian law that allows trafficked persons to receive residency permits if they denounce their traffickers and cooperate with investigative authorities, Sant'Egidio officials said.

They said Ivanka Trump was interested to learn about the law.

Pompei said Trump also told the women that Pope Francis "is an advocate for your stories" of suffering, referring to the pontiff's oft-made appeals to nations to do more to fight human traffickers.

Later, Ivanka Trump tweeted she was "inspired to visit Sant'Egidio and learn about their remarkable work with survivals of human trafficking and with those still suffering."

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Ivanka Trump sits prior to deliver her speech at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump sits prior to deliver her speech at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump looks up during her visit to the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump arrives at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump waves as she arrives at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump waves as she arrives at the Catholic group Sant Egidio in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump, center left, shakes hands with Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Catholic group Sant’ Egidio, where she delivered her speech, in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (Yara Nardi/Pool Photo via AP) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump, right, is flanked by Marco Impagliazzo, left, and Andrea Riccardi, respectively director and founder of the Catholic group Sant’ Egidio, as she arrives to talk about human trafficking, in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) The Associated Press
Ivanka Trump waves as she arrives at the Catholic group Sant’ Egidio to talk about human trafficking, in Rome, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. President Donald Trump and Pope Francis, two leaders with contrasting styles and differing worldviews, met at the Vatican City on Wednesday, setting aside their previous clashes to broadcast a tone of peace for an audience around the globe. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) The Associated Press
Pope Francis shakes hands with Ivanka Trump on the occasion of a private audience, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP) The Associated Press
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