About the Global Summit 2011

These events are being Organized and sponsored by the Global Women's Health Organization (GWHO) in collaboration with other benevolent organizations in the United States of America.   While walking through the streets of Vicenza or any major city in Italy at night, or while taking a leisurely afternoon drive through the country, one cannot help but notice the hundreds of scantily clad women standing on the side of the road. The majority of these women are Africans, working as prostitutes to send money home to their families in the poverty sticken areas from which they come. Some women are working by their own choice, most are not.    The kidnapping, recruitment, and transport of women and children for sexual and other forms of slavery dates back thousands of years. It hasn't been until the turn of the 20th century that this activity has been recognized as "trafficking", a term that today, has many debated definitions. Trafficking is most often defined as the 'recruitment, transport, harboring, transfer, sale or receipt of persons through coercion, force, fraud, or deception in order to get people in the situations such as forced prostitution, domestic servitude, sweatshop labor or other kinds of work to pay of debts.' It is at once a moral problem, a criminal problem, a human rights problem, a global problem, an economic problem, a health problem and a labor problem.   The Congressional Research Service estimates that every year two million people are trafficked against their will to work in some form of servitude. Annually, about 50,000 women and girls are trafficked into the United States alone. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that trafficking in human beings is a $5 to $7 billion industry worldwide.   These figures indicate that trafficking in human beings is an industry more lucrative than the international trade in illicit weapons. In a review of data on the scale of and recent trends in trafficking conducted in April, 2001 by the IOM demonstrates the paucity of reliable data on trafficking across the world. This lack of data is explained by the underground and illegal nature of trafficking; the lack of anti-trafficking legislation in many countries; the reluctance of victims to report their experiences to the authorities; and the lack of government priority given to data collection and research. This suggests that the real numbers of trafficking could be even higher than those figures stated above.   Conference Objectives   The Global Summit on HIV/AIDS & Female Trafficking 2011 will:   •  Provide a forum in which key scientific and practice-based research, best practice, lessons learned and gaps in knowledge are addressed;   •  Present strong evidence to influence leaders, including key policy makers and donors, to increase their commitment to HIV/AIDS, care and treatment, undertake responsible action and be more accountable;   • To build a common understanding among participants on trafficking issues and their impact on women and children in general, and on their sexual and reproductive health and rights in particular;   • To identify possible partners for implementation.   • To review and discuss the conceptual framework document;   • To identify approaches, methods and good practices for tackling trafficking issues;   • Maximize opportunities for the participation in conference and programme planning of those engaged in evidence-based responses – scientists, members of marginalized communities especially those most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS & Female Trafficking, including women, girls, and young people;   • Improve public awareness of the continued impact of and global response to HIV/AIDS & Female Trafficking through enhanced media coverage.   • Reach a wider audience through the webcasting of conference proceedings to regional sub-conferences/meetings and through the availability of conference sessions online;   The summit challenges students, professionals, educators, doctors, scientists, lawyers, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and others, to develop innovative solutions to achieve global goals.