By emphasizing the role of "women and children," the Protocol
frames the issue of human trafficking at the expense of male victims.
Prior to the drafting of the Palermo Protocol, the series of "white slave"
treaties also predominantly addressed the protection of women victims.
The Convention on the Suppression of White Slave Trade of May 18,
1904, which addressed "the procuration of women or girls both in a view
to their debauchery in a foreign country," framed the trafficking problem
as the sexual exploitation of women and girls.29 Later, the International
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Childrenso
and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in
Women of Full Age3
1 reinforced the stereotype of the trafficking victim as
female. These early agreements were later consolidated into the
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the
32 Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, which had a limited focus on the trafficking of women for sex, consequently failing to properly
address the broader scope of the human trafficking problem.
This trend was continued throughout the earlier stages of the
drafting process, as the Palermo Protocol was initially named the
"Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Women and
Children."34 This failure to mention the broader category of "persons" as
victims provides insight into the drafters' initial conceptualization of
trafficking victims. During the following session of the Ad Hoc
Committee entrusted with drafting the Palermo Protocol, "almost all
countries expressed their preference that the Protocol address all
persons rather than only women and children, although particular
attention should be given to the protection of women and children.