Human Trafficking
The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) is a non-governmental organization that promotes women's human
rights and the fight against human trafficking.
CATW works
internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms, especially prostitution and trafficking of women
of women and children, in particular young girls. Our work involves campaigns and projects, such as:
Measures to Combat Human Trafficking: A project
jointly coordinated by the European Women's Lobby (EWL) and the Coalition
Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). The purposes of this project are to
address gaps in current anti-trafficking programs and policies that avoid
focusing on gender equality, the demand, and the links between human trafficking
and prostitution. The project will support NGOs working on these issues in 13
countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Albania, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro.
Human Rights Advocacy: International presentations, trial
testimony, congressional and parliamentary hearings, UN forums and
international visitors' programs.
- To participate in governmental and public forums addressing the harmful
consequences of state-sponsored prostitution.
- To provide expert testimony in court, and at congressional and parliamentary hearings on human trafficking, prostitution and the global sex industry.
- To host NGO and governmental visitors from around the world about best practices in combating trafficking of women and prostitution and educate about CATW's policies and programs.
- To lead seminars for international journalists focusing on media coverage of prostitution and human trafficking issues.
- To continue the hundreds of presentations on prostitution and trafficking of women in Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mali, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United States, Venezuela and elsewhere.
- To testify at U.S. Congressional and the European Parliamentary and other
legislative hearings.
- To advocate annually at key UN forums including the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meetings, the UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and key UN world conferences such as Beijing, Beijing + 5, and Beijing + 10.
- To monitor the progress of the UN Protocol on Trafficking in which CATW
played a key role in drafting a human rights definition of human trafficking that protects all victims of human trafficking regardless of their consent; and in establishing prevention, protection and prosecution measures.
- To monitor the implementation of the anti-trafficking law passed in the Philippines that CATW's Asia Pacific helped to pass.
CATW has produced major books,
articles, reports and groundbreaking videos on prostitution and human trafficking as
major human rights violations of women. Our challenge, in opposition to the
enormous power and resources of the sex industry that portrays prostitution as
sexual liberation, work or even glamorous, has been to make the harm of
prostitution visible.
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