The term "trafficking in women" has become increasingly familiar
through media attention to this problem. Trafficking in women is sometimes
presented as a new problem. In fact, many of the human rights violations
that occur in a trafficking case, such as kidnapping, forced labor and
labor exploitation comparable to slavery, are addressed in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights from 1948. Other international treaties
and agreements, from the early 20th century, also prohibited forced
prostitution and the traffic of women and children. The dynamics of
modern trafficking in women, however, have changed dramatically and
necessitated new approaches to remedying this human rights abuse.
Trafficking in women has been described as "structural,"
as opposed to "episodic," meaning that it affects thousands
of individuals worldwide and often requires complex interactions between
individual traffickers, international criminal networks and state structures.
In some ways, modern trafficking is a by-product of globalization and
a general increase in transnational travel and commerce.
The broad term "trafficking in women" encompasses a number
of illegal actions, including transnational crime, illegal immigration
and violations of labor standards. Very often, anti-trafficking initiatives
address a single aspect of the problem and thus approach trafficking
as either a criminal problem, a migration problem, a labor problem or
a violation of public order. More recently, international organizations,
like the United Nations and the Council of Europe recognize trafficking
as gender discrimination and a form of [gender-based violence] [future
link to about SVAW], which violates a number of national and international
In countries in transition, the process of privatization and the transition
to a global economy have resulted in increased economic burdens for
women. Traffickers profit from the unequal social and economic status
of women around the world. The demand for and treatment of women in
the commercial sex industry also stems from sex-based and race-based
discrimination. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson
stated, "[t]rafficking is
inherently discriminatory. In
the case of trafficking into the global sex industry, we are talking
about men from relatively prosperous countries paying for the sexual
services of women and girls . . . from less wealthy countries. This
is more than a labor rights issue or an issue of unequal development.
It is a basic human rights issue because it involves such a massive
and harmful form of discrimination." From The
Race Dimensions of Trafficking in Persons - Especially Women and Children,
World Conference against Racism (2001).
Explore the Issue
1. Definintion: What is Trafficking in Women?