Our cities are home to a number of women that do not live there voluntarily: they have ended up there through deception or force by someone or through unwanted circumstances. Most of them are engaged in prostitution.

Trafficking in women is deemed to be twenty-first-century slavery as it constitutes a form of violence perpetrated against women and girls, often treated as objects of sexual exploitation, as well as a violation of human rights: to freedom, to dignity, to safety and to health, to name but a few. This practice, often committed within the context of organised crime, comes to pass in many settings on an international scale as it affects the countries of origin, transit and destination. The stakeholders involved are just as plentiful as the victims, as an impact is borne not only on the victims but also on international networks, intermediaries, families, immigration authorities and security forces, social platforms, etc. The few cases that come to the authorities’attention make it difficult to measure the extent of these types of practices throughout the world.

Though the overriding goal is always to protect the human rights of these women and girls, many different approaches are adopted in order to prevent and combat trafficking effectively, as well as to protect the victims who suffer from this scourge. In this regard, and since it is an issue that exerts an impact across the world and on very different stakeholders, reflection and concerted action are called for.

In order to set the issue in context and to discuss the international trafficking of women and girls with participants from UN Women, among other institutions, and to share experiences that focus on measures to prevent such trafficking and to protect victims enduring this situation, the Metropolis Women International Network and Barcelona City Council, with the support of Barcelona Provincial Council, are jointly organising a conference. Entitled “Safety and protection of victims of sexual exploitation. New forms of slavery and its local impact”, it will take place in Barcelona, at Francesca Bonnemaison, on 13 June 2014.

We invite you to the conference!

If you wish to submit queries please contact Mireia Zapata via email at mzapata@metropolis.org.