Trafficking as a Human Rights Violation: The Complex Intersection of Legal Frameworks for Conceptualizing and Combating Trafficking

This article analyzes three legal instruments that address trafficking: the 2000 UN Trafficking Protocol, the 2000 American Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, and the regulations issued in 2002 by the US Department of Justice to implement the T visa for trafficking victims. The author argues that trafficking has traditionally been conceptualized as crime and migration issues, and that human rights norms must be integrated into national strategies dealing with crime and migration in order to respect the human rights of trafficked persons. She emphasizes that discrimination against women and children, combined with severe poverty, perpetuate the sex trade; these issues must be addressed in order to effectively address trafficking. [Descriptors: Migration - Trafficking, International]