The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-International (CATW) is a non-governmental organization that promotes women's human rights by working internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms.

Founded in 1988, CATW was the first international non-governmental organization to focus on human trafficking, especially sex trafficking of women and girls. CATW obtained Category II Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1989.

CATW is creating real and lasting changes in countries around the world by launching and supporting anti-trafficking projects in areas that few programs address: the links between prostitution and trafficking; challenging the demand for prostitution that promotes sex trafficking; and protecting the women and children who are its victims by working to curb legal acceptance and tolerance of the sex industry.

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women supports campaigns, programs and projects in many different parts of the world:

Measures to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings:
Addressing gaps in current anti-trafficking programs and policies that avoid focusing on gender equality, the demand, and the links between trafficking and prostitution.  

The Prevention Project:
A multi-tiered project to prevent sex trafficking and sexual exploitation by developing best practices in several areas of the world.  

Prostitution Law Reform:
To challenge acceptance of the sex industry, normalization of prostitution as work, and to de-romanticize legalization initiatives in various countries.  

Human Rights Advocacy:
International presentations, trial testimony, congressional and parliamentary hearings, UN forums and international visitors' programs.  

Project to Curb Male Demand for Prostitution:
To combat sex trafficking and prostitution by discouraging the demand.  

Human Rights Documentation Project:
To conduct training sessions to inform and educate women's organizations on feminist research methodologies, counseling and para-legal skills, and the developing of profiles on trafficking and prostitution in Asian countries.  

Online Documentation Center: To distribute information on sex trafficking and prostitution from different parts of the world, including country-specific

As we begin the 21st century, the CATW has made enormous progress in the campaign against sexual exploitation and in extending its influence worldwide. CATW has been an effective NGO presence internationally and has changed the terms of the debate over prostitution and trafficking in many regions of the globe and at the United Nations level.

Because we have Coalitions in all the major world regions and have been successful in setting up a worldwide network against trafficking and prostitution, we have the ability to work jointly and separately in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. In 1993 we had one secretariat. Today we have six. We also have national coalitions in over fifteen countries including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Chile, the United States, Canada, Norway, France and Greece.

Whereas five years ago, it looked like there was little resistance to governments seeking to legalize prostitution as a form of work, and who were considering regulating the sex industry and taxing it as a "sex sector," today this situation has changed. The CATW has influenced anti-sex industry and anti-trafficking legislation in the Philippines, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Japan, Sweden and the United States.

The definition of trafficking, in the new UN Transnational Crime Convention's Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children was launched and advocated by the Coalition. CATW organized the International Human Rights Network (IHRN), a coalition of more than 140 NGOs, to successfully advocate for a definition of trafficking that protects all victims, not just those who can prove that they were forced. Many of the measures to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and punish perpetrators were also initiated by CATW.

CATW has produced major books, reports and groundbreaking videos on prostitution and trafficking as major human rights violations of women. Our challenge, in opposition to the enormous power and resources of the sex industry that portrays prostitution as sexual liberation, work or even glamorous, has been to make the harm of prostitution visible.

1)       Hosted and conducted seminars for over 250 international visitors, through the U.S. State Department’s International Visitors’ Program, on the subjects of trafficking and sexual exploitation during 2005-07.

 2)      Presented at over 40 international conferences and meetings, and UN commissions and committees about trafficking and sexual exploitation. These conferences and meetings were attended by thousands of people throughout 2005-07.

 3)      Worked with a coalition of 40 plus organizations and prominent individuals in New York State to secure the passage of strong anti-trafficking legislation for the State of New York.  The New York Legislative Initiative began in 2006 and the New York State legislature passed the nation’s strongest anti-human trafficking legislation, that also addresses sex tourism in March, 2007. 

4)      In recognition of the fact that the United States is an enormous source of demand as well as a key destination nation for traffickers, we are working to secure state-by-state strong anti-trafficking legislation as well as re-enforce the federal anti trafficking legislation. 

5)      Conducted 3 government consultations in 2005 in the Czech Republic (May, 2005); Croatia (June, 2005), and Estonia (March, 2005). Conducted 2 governmental consultations in 2006 in Albania (November 2006), Moldova (May, 2006,) advising lawmakers and others about pending legislation on trafficking and prostitution. 

6)      Conducted 1 police training in 2005 and 2 police trainings in 2006 on trafficking and prostitution, especially educating them about the demand aspects, in Mumbai, India. Police trainings were conducted during 2006 on the same subject in Mexico. 

7)      Set up prevention of trafficking projects in 13 countries in eastern Europe, the Baltics and the Balkans to promote public awareness of trafficking, to prevent sexual exploitation and to propose legislation against the demand for sexual exploitation that encourages trafficking. These programs reached thousands during 2005-06. 

8)      Held 2 national workshops in Mali and Cote d’Ivoire to strengthen NGO capacity to combat trafficking in Africa. Workshops reached 200 in 2005-06. 

9)      Trained NGOs from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Moldova, Poland, Russia, and Serbia to launch projects to prevent trafficking by addressing the links between prostitution and trafficking and the demand for sexual exploitation that promotes trafficking during 2005 and 2006. 

10)  Testified in June, 2005, at U.S. congressional hearing on international slavery and human trafficking; testified before Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws in the House of Commons, Ottawa, Canada, in April, 2005. 

11)  Testified in November, 2006 at hearings in the House of Commons, Ottawa, Canada, on new legislation in Canada against sex trafficking.  

 12)  Continued a project in the Philippines to prevent sex trafficking by discouraging the demand for prostitution, educating young men about gender, male sexual attitudes and practices, and men’s potential role in preventing trafficking and sexual exploitation.

 13)  In Italy, during 2005-06, provided financial assistance and temporary housing facilities for 23 trafficked women and 10 children for Nigeria. 

14)  Continued a project in 3 districts of Mexico City to prevent trafficking by holding 12 workshops for labor leaders, teachers and adolescent peer educators on trafficking and sexual exploitation in Mexico; reprinted a training manual for teachers in Mexico City; and edited a Spanish language video on trafficking warning those arriving in Mexico City about the risks and penalties against child trafficking, sex tourism and sexual exploitation.  This is an on-going project through 2008. 

15)  In the Republic of Georgia, continued a short course for 30 potential migrants on preventing trafficking and illegal migration, giving them information about what they need to know before migrating.  

16)  In September 2006, participated in the CATW Asia-Pacific regional meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand to develop a plan of action for our regional coalition there. 

17)  In November 2006, in conjunction with the Albanian Women’s Media Group, organized and conducted a conference for Balkan journalists in Tirana, Albania, on best practices of writing about prostitution and trafficking.  Interviews in major Albanian media. 

18)  Began a new program on law reform of prostitution legislation in Bulgaria and Romania (May 2007-April 2008). Project partners include the Institute for Stability and Democracy in South East Europe, the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation and Caritas. Organized public forums on prostitution legislation in both countries.

19)  Prepared shadow reports on trafficking and prostitution for the UN CEDAW committee (Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women). CATW representative delivered an oral summary to the committee. 

20)  In March 2007, organized the First International Conference on Prostitution and Human Trafficking in Benin City, Nigeria in cooperation with the Italian/Nigerian NGO IROKO Onlus and the Nigerian government’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP). 

21)  Since April 2007, member of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) NGO Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking (UN:GIFT) Advisory Group. 

22)  In April, 2007, at the United Nations, Vienna, Austria, presented to the Member States of the Conference of the Parties to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. 

23)  Since July, 2007, participated as member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons. 

24)  In July 2007, opened a second International Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.     

Sexual exploitation is a practice by which person(s) achieve sexual gratification or financial gain or advancement through the abuse of a person's sexuality by abrogating that person's human right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental well-being.

Sexual exploitation includes sexual harassment, rape, incest, battering, pornography and prostitution.

All prostitution exploits women, regardless of women's consent.

Prostitution includes casual, brothel, escort agency or military prostitution, sex tourism, mail order bride selling and trafficking in women.

'Trafficking in persons' shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;

(b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used;

(Article 3, UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime)

1.  Decriminalize the women in prostitution.

2.  Criminalize the men who buy women and children and anyone who promotes sexual exploitation, particularly pimps, procurers and traffickers.

3.  Reject state policies and practices that channel women into conditions of sexual exploitation.

4.  Provide education and employment opportunities that enhance women's worth and status, thereby diminishing the necessity for the women to turn to prostitution.