China: Mainstreaming prevention

When the International Labour Organization introduced its Mekong Subregional Project to Combat Trafficking in Children and Women for Labour Exploitation (ILO-TICW) in 2002, it first sensitized the project’s implementing partner, the Yunnan Provincial Women's Federation, and provincial government officials on the many dimensions of the problem. The provincial authorities then prioritized the pursuit of criminals and the rescue of children and women. But as the market economy further developed, new problems of social management emerged. The Women’s Federation realized that a wideranging, coordinated response was needed. They also knew that real change requires policy support, and policy needs government officials to both understand the issue and commit to making a difference.