Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)

Coalition against trafficking in women ("CATW") and our partners combat the trafficking and prostitution of women and girls in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America, including the United States. CATW and our partners provide multi-level services, financial aid, psychological support, housing, and legal advocacy for victims of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. CATW carries our innovative, multi-tiered programs that educate youth, government officials, law enforcement, and the public about the harm of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. It is the demand for the bodies of women and girls for commercial sex that is fueling sex trafficking. CATW and our partners carry out programs to educate male youth about the harm of commercial sexual exploitation to women and children, themselves and to communities. CATW promotes the swedish model legislation at local, national, and international levels to prevent women and children from becoming victims of human trafficking. The Swedish model is the world's first law to recognize prostitution as violence against women and a violation of human rights. It criminalizes the purchase of commercial sex and offers to women, services and exit strategies. The Swedish model originated in 1999 and has since been passed in Norway (2009), Iceland (2009), Northern Ireland (2014), Canada (with reservations, 2015), France (2016), the republic of Ireland (2017), Israel (2018) and the State of Maine (2023).