The trafficking of human organs for transplant purposes appears to be a growing problem for South Africa and the developing world at large. The international nature of this trade suggests that there are global or universal root causes to this phenomenon, which include rapidly changing societal attitudes towards ‘the body' and economic pressures. While this global perspective is crucial to understanding the growth of this trade, I will argue in this focus that certain topical factors, such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, labour market conditions and health behaviours, compound these effects in South Africa. It will be shown that the effects of these supplementary factors are felt more acutely by women, and therefore, this paper will explore possible implications for the gender dimensions of organ trafficking. Specifically, the aim of this focus is to examine whether women are likely to become more vulnerable to a market for kidney trafficking in South Africa.

The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) recently released a Discussion Paper and a Proposed Bill on Trafficking in Persons, which the public is currently commenting on. The Cape Town-based Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) is against human trafficking into the sex work industry and has adopted a protocol some time back that outlines the steps the organisation must take if staff members encounter situations of human trafficking.  We believe that the tone of the Discussion Paper on Trafficking and Proposed Bill, as it stands, will impact negatively on sex workers, will not be of the utmost assistance to victims of human trafficking and that, more broadly, it is an attempt to control women’s freedom of movement and sexuality. This perspective will discuss the SALRC anti-trafficking documents from a gender perspective, the role of the United States State Department and the abolition of sex work movement in current anti-trafficking global trends. It will discuss the likely impact on victims of trafficking if such legislation is enacted and the practical implications for women’s freedom of movement and sexuality.

It is taken as a given that the imperative to act against both trafficking and HIV and AIDS is already understood, as there are many responses to trafficking and/or HIV and AIDS in the region. The objective of this article is not to provide a detailed analysis of HIV and AIDS and trafficking in the region, nor is it to provide a detailed critique of the responses. Rather, it aims to put forward a conceptual framework based on current understandings and responses within which to locate responses to HIV and AIDS and trafficking and to facilitate the deconstruction of what are understood to be vulnerabilities'. The paper seeks to analyse the links between current responses to trafficking and HIV and AIDS, understand the realities of women's and girls' lives - both women living with HIV and AIDS and those who have been trafficked - as well as examine vulnerability through understanding power as a problem. It will propose a conceptual framework which brings together analysis and understanding and further develops our understanding of the issues using a feminist approach.

In August 2002, while briefing the press in Lusaka, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official warned Zambia to brace itself for increased sex work, crime and exploitation if food contingency measures were not immediately addressed. UNICEF feared the food and water crisis and increasing poverty in the country's southern province might create a new set of social problems for women and children'.1 MAPODE (Movement of Community Action for the Prevention and Protection of Young People Against Poverty, Destitution, Diseases and Exploitation), an organisation running a street children and sex worker outreach programme in Lusaka City, was not surprised by UNICEF's concern. That same year, the organisation had conducted a study on sex work and trafficking of women and children in Zambia. This focus relies on these findings, pointing to the link between poverty, sex work, trafficking and the global sex industry. It contextualises these issues by pointing to gender and feminist concepts and proposed prevention and protection strategies.

South African women are being trafficked to the East Asian city of Macau, a former Portuguese colony across the Pearl River from Hong Kong.

The selling of babies into the commercial adoption market is an internationally condemned criminal act.  Yet, little is known about the nature, extent, patterns and development of this illicit trade. This article explores the state of the problem in Albania and its legal implications through the analysis of real cases of Albanian babies sold in Greece. It examines how the selling of babies for illegal adoption could be part of a larger scheme of trafficking in persons, in particular vulnerable, expecting women. A connection between baby selling for the purpose of illegal adoption and trafficking in persons is drawn and analysed. The paper also explores efforts to distinguish between cases of baby selling for illegal adoption versus trafficking in children.

The sex trade in Ghana is perceived as women's business. The legal definition of prostitution in the Ghanaian criminal code of 1960 limits sex work and stipulates prostitution as females' activity.

The trafficking  of women and children is a lucrative industry internationally. This briefing argues that trafficking is a form of gender-based violence and that interventions to address trafficking should be located within this context. As the protection and support of trafficked persons is largely lacking in many countries across the globe, this briefing explores key aspects of what such support should entail. These are discussed within the context of proposed legislation on trafficking and the deliberations of the 2006 South African Women's Parliament, which focused on trafficking.

This article examines the legacy of slave trafficking in terms of the experiences of the descendants of African slaves in Northeast Brazil. In particular, it focuses on female domestic servants. It argues that ideologies around domestic work and women's bodies are closely tied to notions of slavery and shows how female domestic workers challenge these notions through their interpretations of Brazilian soap operas.