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Research into issues related to trafficking is hampered by a lack of clarity in they way we think about and act with respect to trafficked people. Work in the area is made even more difficult by the paucity of accurate data on the topic.
Despite the definition given to trafficking in international law1 the term and issues surrounding it remain confused both conceptually and in government policy and practice. Several issues contribute to this confusion. First, researchers, law-enforcement agencies, and non-governmental organisations usually focus on a subset of trafficked people-women and children in sex work. Second, trafficking is rarely discussed without mention of coercion. But what constitutes coercion in the trafficking context? There is no universal, or even readily arrived at, position, which creates difficulties in contextualising and responding to many dilemmas raised by trafficking. Third, the definition of trafficking is complicated by a frequent failure to differentiate between women and children. Issues pertinent to children are sometimes incorrectly applied to adults. Even the Palermo Protocol1 adopts the indiscriminate phrase "especially women and children" (panel). Further, trafficking is sometimes confused with people smuggling and illegal immigration.
That accurate data on trafficking in all its forms are difficult to obtain is not surprising. Such data, as exist, are often contaminated with ideological and moral bias. UNESCO notes that "(w)hen it comes to statistics, trafficking of girls and women is one of several highly emotive issues which seem to overwhelm critical faculties. Numbers take...