WUNRN
JOINT STATEMENT
A CALL ON GOVERNMENTS FROM WOMEN’S ANTI-TRAFFICKING GROUPS
AROUND THE WORLD TO MAKE SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS FOR STEPS THEY WILL TAKE TO END
SEX TRAFFICKING
THE
Vienna,
13 February 2008: The Coalition
Against Trafficking in Women (CATW),
The Vienna Forum is a significant opportunity for governments to
strategize on ways to end human trafficking and facilitate a global exchange of
strategies and best practices that results in setting concrete deadlines, and
clear plans for the future. We are
concerned, however, that the Forum will not fully address the causes and
specific dimensions of trafficking in women for sexual exploitation and will
shy away from addressing the commercial sex industry and its dependence on
human trafficking.
According to UNODC, a majority of individuals trafficked worldwide are
women and children who are particularly vulnerable to being sold in the sex
industry as a result of deception, coercion and force due to poverty, the abuse of a position of vulnerability, gender-based
violence and discrimination[1][1].
In order to combat the trafficking in women, governments and the United
Nations must address sex discrimination and put into place and adequately fund
measures that ameliorate the socio-economic, political and legal conditions of
women and girls. States must also exhibit the political will to develop
effective tools to prosecute traffickers, protect trafficking victims, and
fully address the demand for women and children for sexual exploitation. We
urge the UNODC to ensure that the meeting in
As is set out in the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, adopted in 2000 in
Those countries that have legalized prostitution should recognize the
integral link between prostitution and sex trafficking, and that they are
creating profitable markets for traffickers.
It may be that not all women in prostitution are sex trafficking
victims, but all sex trafficking victims end up in prostitution, an industry
fueled by the demand for women for the purpose of sexual exploitation.[2][2] The definition of trafficking in article 3
(b) of the Palermo Protocol, specifically acknowledges that the consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended
exploitation shall be irrelevant where any of the means have been used.
Grassroots women’s groups around the
world have been at the forefront of the fight against trafficking in women,
with little financial support. While
reports indicate that the Vienna Forum is costing over $4 million, very little,
if any, consideration is given to survivors of sex trafficking or to the groups
on the frontlines who advocate for, rescue and assist these women to rebuild
their lives. Governments should take
into consideration the expertise of grassroots groups while planning their
measures. We have keen knowledge and
insight about ground realities, which is vital to creating effective and
appropriate policies. Yet there is
little or no room for these groups at the table in
The Palermo Protocol recognizes as
traffickers those who prey on the vulnerability of women and children. In the past decade, a significant body of
legal and policy work on human trafficking has been developed and many
governments have initiated measures and programs to address this international
crime. We call on governments and the
UNODC to use the Vienna Forum as an opportunity to display their political will
and begin actually implementing plans of action to end human trafficking, in
particular the trade in women for sexual exploitation. There has been enough talk and too little
action, and the millions of dollars used to organize the Vienna Forum should be
matched by the channeling of desperately needed and strategically placed
resources to grassroots organizations working on the front lines.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Gunilla Ekberg, CATW International +32 473 17 6569
Taina Bien-Aimé, Equality Now +1 917 650 0247
Colette de Troy, European Women’s Lobby +32 473 86 9777
JOINT STATEMENT SIGNED BY:
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[1][1] 87 % of reported victims of trafficking have been trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation according to the UNODC report Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns, UNODC 2006, graph 16, p. 33
[2][2] In her 2006 Annual Report The UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, stated that it is not necessary for the demand itself to lead to trafficking; rather, it is sufficient that the exploitation fostered by the demand leads to trafficking,