Protection of Victims • Tafficking is essentially a gendered issue in that it reflects gender-based imbalances between men and women and disproportionately affects women and girls. National Institutions will not be able to deal with this problem effectively unless they have integrated a gender perspective into their own programs and methods of work. • All APF member institutions are mandated to receive and act upon complaints of human rights violations. Most are also empowered to undertake enquiries, on their own initiative, into particular human rights situations or issues. Both of these powers can be extremely important in highlighting the problem of trafficking and in providing redress to victims. • In relation to individual complaints, National Institutions must remain aware of the fact that the type of complaint received will usually reflect public perception of the institution’s functions and principle areas of concern. A Commission which has never issued a public statement on trafficking; never included trafficking related issues in its training or dissemination programs; and never provided relevant policy advice to government should not be surprised if it receives no complaints on this issue. • Considerations to be kept in mind include the fact that most trafficked persons are illegal or irregular immigrants. National Commissions should make special efforts to reach out to the immigrant community as normal communication channels are likely to be ineffective. The irregular status of most trafficked persons will also mean that they are wary of “official” channels. National Commissions should ensure confidentiality in the complaint procedure in order to encourage trafficked persons to come forward. • General Enquiries have proved to be a particularly useful way of gathering information on difficult or sensitive issues. National Commissions in major sending or receiving countries could consider undertaking such an enquiry into trafficking. The results from a study of this kind would provide valuable information on critical but often overlooked human rights issues. Research and Policy Making • It is important for national institutions to also go beyond the law by including consideration of related policies and practices. General policy advice to government on the problem of trafficking can be extremely useful. National Commissions could, for example, propose that governments include the issue of trafficking in national development and poverty alleviation programs as well as in National Plans of Action for Human Rights. • In countries of origin they could promote specific preventive initiatives aimed at increased access of vulnerable women and girls to education and genuine alternative job opportunities. • In destination countries they could propose that industries which could have a connection to trafficking, such as leisure, tourism, media and computer communication industries be encouraged to develop codes of conduct - with clauses specifying monitoring and reporting 89