mechanisms, to prevent direct or indirect involvement with trafficking. National institutions could also encourage governments in destination countries to investigate the “demand” side of trafficking. What are the factors that create and sustain demand for cheap exploitative sex and unregulated, exploitative labor? Education • Integration of trafficking issues into training and dissemination programs should be a priority in significant source and destination countries. Key target groups for sensitization and training in the human rights aspects of trafficking (both causes and responses) include public officials (police, prosecutors, the judiciary, immigration officials, consulate staff) as well as civil society groups including the media, educators, NGOs and community leaders. • Consideration could usefully be given to undertaking training-of-trainers programs in order to empower local community groups to conduct sensitization activities - as it is these groups who are often in closest contact with victims and potential victims of trafficking. • A contextual approach should be taken to training and sensitization activities in order to properly incorporate and reflect the human rights and gender aspects of trafficking. This means that trafficking should not be considered as a separate or distinct “issue” but rather understood within the broader context of human rights, particularly the rights of women and children. • The capacity for different groups to aggravate further the violations already suffered by trafficked persons should be highlighted and explored through the training process. Law enforcement practices, for example, can hinder rather than support trafficked persons in their attempts to escape an exploitative situation or seek redress for damage. • Rather than promoting community understanding of the trafficking phenomenon, the media in many countries has contributed towards simplifying the issue and preventing debate about the structural and political factors which sustain trafficking and related exploitation. National institutions have a role to play in showing these and other groups a different way of doing their job. Cooperation • While trafficking does occur between continents it remains essentially a regional issue. There is a consequential need to focus on regional and sub-regional approaches which aim, inter alia, to coordinate legislation and to improve cross-border cooperation - particularly as this relates to law enforcement and victim protection. • National Institutions within the Asia Pacific region are uniquely placed to contribute to regional and cross-border efforts to eliminate trafficking. The critical link between 90