Trafficking of women: exploring effective policies and mechanisms to prevent it through education

Awareness raising and sensitization among potential victims of human trafficking, their families and communities, appear to be crucial to eliminate a practice that affects worldwide 2.4 million people annually, with 80% of these being women and girls and 75% under the age of 25. Trafficking is a global phenomenon that affects almost all countries: a total of 161 countries serve as origin, transit, and/or destination for the trafficking trade, with victims being trafficked in and out of an estimated 137 countries.

Trafficking is often not perceived as a crime by the trafficked women and their families or communities, at least as long as the opportunity of potential social and economic improvement is hoped for by the victims, who are therefore initially compliant. Moreover, it is often believed that trafficking affects only a small portion of impoverished people, often un- or under-educated. This misconception has seriously hindered the ability of organizations and states to combat this issue, sustaining perpetrator immunity and invariably affecting the lives of millions of girls and women.  

In many countries, education, together with awareness raising, becomes a significant factor to fight against trafficking. In this framework, comprehensive and integrated efforts must be put in place that engage in effective dialogue with policy makers in receiving, transit and sending countries through formal education and communication and media. This Conference intends to further explore the links, synergies and opportunities of engaging with these elements simultaneously, based on lessons learnt and research at the European level.

Preventing gender-based violence

We need to better understand the root causes of these unequal social structures and negative attitudes and address them by developing and implementing effective prevention strategies. This requires a combination of research targeted towards identifying the underlying causes and policy formulation and implementation that is responsive to the results of such research.

Our programmes aim to challenge the underlying gender inequalities that persist in society and are the key barriers to the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence.  We believe that this is best done by building capacity for research, training and advocacy, to enable policy makers, civil society and women themselves to better implement strategies to combat violence.  We also are committed to the idea that men and boys should be actively involved, as agents of societal change, in violence prevention plans.