The rise in migrant labour and the rise in the sex trade and international trafficking of women has prompted organizations (such as Gabriela and the Kanlungan Centre Foundation in the Philippines and the Friends of Women in Thailand) to set up centres to assist women who are being hired to work in other countries. Many such women are from the poorest sectors in society. These women's groups and others, in addition to providing direct assistance, carry out public education campaigns and other activities to highlight the root causes of international trafficking in women.
The European Union set up the Sexual Trafficking of Persons (Stop) programme in 1997. Its main thrust is training staff who work with trafficked women, gathering Union-wide data and developing action programmes.