Participation, Protection

This is an issue that affects more than 21 million people worldwide, more than 5 million of them women and children, and it is therefore incumbent on us to do everything we can to address it. First responders must be sensitized in order to ensure that victims, especially women and girls, receive the medical and psychosocial care that they urgently need. The effects on women and girls can be particularly harrowing. This does not simply entail instituting extra security and response measures; it also means ensuring women’s participation in policies and programmes aimed at combating and preventing human trafficking.