GENEVA – Women and girls are much more likely than men and boys to be victims of trafficking, especially into prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation. But labour exploitation and other contemporary forms of slavery are also areas where women and girls are increasingly becoming ensnared.
Now, a new guide * produced by the ILO's programmes on Gender Promotion, the International Migration Branch and the Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour focuses on the particular dangers faced by women and girls.
The guide, one of six booklets on various aspects of the problem, aims at enhancing knowledge and understanding of the vulnerability of women migrant workers to discrimination, exploitation and abuse throughout all stages of the international migrant process, including trafficking.
It also stresses that trafficking in human beings is first and foremost a violation of human rights, and should not be dealt with solely from the perspective of fighting illegal migration nor protecting national interests.
* An Information Guide: Preventing Discrimination, Exploitation and Abuse of Women Migrant Workers - Booklet 6: Trafficking of women and girls. ILO, 2003.
For more details please contact:The Gender Promotion Programme (GENPROM)International Labour Office 4, route des MorillonsCH-1211, Geneva 22, Switzerland.Tel: 41-22 799 6090 - Fax: 41-22 799 7657 e-mail:genprom@ilo.org