Trafficked women are effectively treated as criminals by the various Israeli agencies with whom they come in contact, rather than as victims of human rights abuses. The same is true in many other countries around the world, including the United States. Now for the first time there is a definition of trafficking as a criminal offense. And the country's resources are being mobilized. Dayan, daughter of the late Gen. Moshe Dayan, is working on legislation that would allow victims to receive temporary asylum so they would be protected in shelters while they waited to testify and could perhaps leave the sex trade.
Similar efforts are under way in countries around the world, including the United States.
Dayan said authorities worldwide would have to follow Israel's lead and make the battle against sex trafficking a priority. And governments around the globe will have to cooperate and share information so that globalization and free trade do not abet exploitation and slavery. There is more and more cooperation. The United Nations is drafting a treaty that would make trafficking women an international crime with severe penalties. It would provide resources to warn women in the poorest countries about the dangers.