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 treated as an object of sexual exploitation.

21^st-century slavery

Every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, another child, another woman or another man becomes a victim of human trafficking. Trafficking in women is deemed to be the 21^st-century slavery.

The few cases that come to the authorities’attention make it difficult to gauge how many people are forced to live under the control of others who oblige them to carry out forced labour, and often to engage in prostitution.

An infringement of human rights

Of freedom, dignity, safety and people’s physical and mental health, to name but a few. This practice entails the complete denial of the victims’ human rights.

A significant money-generating business

It is estimated that human trafficking generates more than 32 billion dollars per year worldwide, a sum comparable to that yielded by drugs and arms trafficking.

Major world events are a pole of attraction for networks that traffic in human beings.

The Metropolis Women International Network is organising the Conference “Safety and Protection of Victims of Sexual Exploitation. New Forms of Slavery and Its Local Impact".Come and find out about the stumbling blocks faced by local authorities in your city and/or other places around the world in the fight against human trafficking.Let’s find and share solutions to eradicate this practice in our city.

Check out the programme and sign up here

We hope to see you there!