3. 4. 5. 6. persons in exploitative labour and mixed migration situation.”23) Trafficking by its nature, characteristics and consequences is intertwined with violence chiefly directed at the female gender and shares underlying causes with violence against women, which includes unequal power relations, gender inequalities, discrimination, feminization of poverty, sexual objectification and commercialization of women and ingrained sex stereotypes and gender based discrimination reinforced by cultural and religious tenets. Trafficking of migrant women workers is chiefly due to poverty and unequal access to employment and means of livelihood for women in countries of origin. Women want to migrate to earn income or run away from gender based violence at home country. Sometimes their migration is facilitated by family members who want to exploit their sexuality to make money for the family. It is pertinent to be aware that although trafficking affects women, men, boys and girls; however, there is a consensus that trafficking disproportionately affects women and constitutes a form of violence. However, the long‐term effects of trafficking in person against the female gender are devastating; impacting not only on the individual victim but also on their family and the society at large. The severe trauma, shame and humiliation experienced by victims often prevent them from seeking treatment and support. Despite the severity of the problem, there exist capacity gaps on the part of key groups to respond effectively to trafficking and gender based violence particularly to prevent and protect victims while bringing perpetrators to account. Therefore, there is need to increase the knowledge and skills of key groups namely judges, police, prosecutors, immigration/border guards, labor inspectors, including health workers on effective response to human trafficking and the need to respect international treaties on women’s rights as well as the expansion of support services for victims/survivors of human trafficking. Again and as I noted in my annual report to Human Rights Council March 2009‐ international cooperation is imperative in eradicating human trafficking and promoting respect for human rights of trafficked victims.24) Ⅴ. The Role of the International Community Trafficking in persons continues to pose a serious challenge to humanity and requires a concerted international assessment and response through genuine multilateral cooperation 23) See UN General Assembly Doc. A/64/290 of 12th August 2009 presented on 23rd October, 2009 24) See Doc. A/HRC/10/16 of 20th February, 2009 and presented to the Human Rights Council on 12th March 2009 The Status of Human Trafficking of Migrant Women Around the World and the Role of the International Community ❙ 11