This report analyses the violation of women’s rights as both a cause and a
consequence of traffi cking in women. Although traffi cking affects both men
and women, it is not a gender-neutral phenomenon, as women are particularly
vulnerable to traffi cking due to their social and economic position,
as well as their position in the migration process. It is therefore important
to understand the gendered factors that increase vulnerability to traffi cking,
and to raise awareness of the rights violations that traffi cking causes.
It is by clarifying the link between traffi cking in women and the violation
of women’s rights that traffi cking can be effectively prevented and women
vulnerable to traffi cking can be more successfully supported.
This report is the result of a desk research on the violation of women’s
rights and traffi cking in women in the nine European La Strada countries,
which are countries of origin and transit as well as being countries of destination.
Traffi cking occurs both within as well as across borders. Traffi cking
can be regarded as a cause of human rights violations because the very act
of traffi cking constitutes a breach of, amongst others, the right to dignity
and security, to move freely and to work in just and favourable conditions.