In sociology, gender identity describes the gender with which a person identifies (i.e, whether one perceives oneself to be a man, a woman, or describes oneself in some less conventional way), but can also be used to refer to the gender that other people attribute to the individual on the basis of what they know from gender role indications (clothing, hair style, etc.).

Gender identity may be affected by a variety of social structures, including the person's ethnic group, employment status, religion or irreligion, and family.

In the overwhelming majority of cases there is no difficulty determining sex and gender. The overwhelming majority of human beings are cisgendered, considered to be either men or women on the basis of their biological sex. Before the 20th century a person's sex would be determined entirely by the appearance of the genitalia, but as chromosomes and genes came to be understood, these were then used to help determine sex. Most often, men have male genitalia, one X and one Y chromosome; and women female genitalia and have two X chromosomes. However some have combinations of chromosomes, hormones, and genitalia that do not follow the typical definitions of "men" and "women". Recent research suggests that one in every hundred individuals may have an atypical sex.

The formation of a gender identity is a complex process that starts with conception, but which involves critical growth processes during gestation and even learning experiences after birth. There are points of differentiation all along the way, but language and tradition in most societies insist that every individual be categorized as either a man or a woman. When multiplicity is arbitrarily reduced to absolute dichotomy, conflicts are sure to result.

Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. Women are entitled to live in dignity and in freedom from want and from fear. Empowering women is also an indispensable tool for advancing development and reducing poverty. Empowered women contribute to the health and productivity of whole families and communities and to improved prospects for the next generation. The importance of gender equality is underscored by its inclusion as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals that serve as a framework for halving poverty and improving lives. As clarified in the 2005 State of World Population, gender equality is also key to achieving the other seven goals. Yet discrimination against women and girls - including gender-based violence, economic discrimination, reproductive health inequities, and harmful traditional practices - remains the most pervasive and persistent forms of inequality. In addition, women and girls bear enormous hardship during and after conflict and other humanitarian emergencies.

Unequal power relations between women and men manifest themselves in many different ways, here are some examples:
• Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, and produce half of the world's food, yet earn only ten per cent of the world's income, and own less than one per cent of the world's property. (UN)
• Women hold only 14 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide, and only eight per cent of the world's cabinet ministers are women.
• Domestic violence is the biggest cause of injury and death to women worldwide. Gender-based violence causes more deaths and disability among women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents, and war.

A "gender-equal society" is a "society in which both men and women, as equal members, have the opportunity to participate in all kinds of social activities at will, equally enjoy political, economical and cultural benefits, and share responsibilities." In such a society, the human rights of men and women are equally respected. Women who desire an active role in society may participate in activities of their own choosing, while men could enjoy a fulfilling home and community life. A gender-equal society is a society built by men and women as equal partners.

The realization of a truly affluent society is dependent on the establishment of a social framework that allows individuals to choose various lifestyles regardless of their gender, and without being bound by such rigid, stereotyped gender roles that assume that child rearing and nursing are exclusively women's duties, while men are the workers, tax-payers and pension renderers who support the nation. We, each and every one of us, need to rethink our prejudiced notions of gender-based roles, so that we may realize a society where men and women can participate together in politics, at the workplace and at home, and lead exciting and fulfilling lives.

Domestic Violence is Physical, psychological and/or economic abuse of a woman by her partner or ex-partner(s) or by another person within the home or family. It includes:
• Physical violence: punching, mutilation, burns, use of arms, domestic incarceration, etc.
• Emotional/psychological violence: encompasses a broad range of manifestations such as humiliation, exploitation, intimidation, psychological degradation, verbal aggression, deprivation of freedom and rights, etc.
• Economic violence: economic blackmail, taking away the money the woman earns so that the male partner has an absolute control over the income of the family, etc.

Perpetrators can include: partner, ex-partner, father, another family member, another person at home.

Women have demonstrated considerable leadership in community and informal organizations, as well as in public office. However, socialization and negative stereotyping of women and men, including stereotyping through the media, reinforces the tendency for political decision- making to remain the domain of men. Likewise, the under-representation of women in decision-making positions in the areas of art, culture, sports, the media, education, religion and the law have prevented women from having a significant impact on many key institutions.(Beijing Platform for Action, paragraph 183)

The Beijing Platform for Action addressed the great disparity in power between women and men in public affairs. It urges governments, the international community and civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to take action to reach the following objectives:
• Ensure women's equal access to, and full participation in, power structures and decision-making;
• Increase women's capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership.

In all countries, women are still underrepresented at every level of government. In many countries, measures have been taken to increase the representation of women in all levels of government and decision-making processes. Progress has, however, been slow. In all countries, women are still underrepresented at every level of government, especially in ministerial and other executive and legislative bodies. For instance, worldwide only 12 per cent of seats in parliaments are held by women, ranging from a mere 3.7 per cent in the Arab States to only 19 per cent in industrialized countries.

UNFPA supports awareness-raising activities to increase the participation of women at decision-making levels within the family, community, political and government spheres. UNFPA assistance in the area of population policy has enabled women and women's NGOs to participate actively in policy formulation.

 The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) offers a comprehensive and widely accepted definition of what constitutes gender-based violence:
Any act… that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

The Declaration further specifies what kinds of abusive acts fall under the category of gender-based violence, while also acknowledging that GBV is not limited to these acts:
(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

GBV is a significant and complex public health problem the world over, and effective and appropriate systems for preventing and responding to GBV are rarely well established. Refugees, and especially the women and children who comprise the majority, are at great risk of violence, exploitation and abuse that too often result from armed conflict, displacement, deterioration of social, familial and community networks and loss of financial and material support.

From Himalayan villages to Eastern European cities, people - especially women and girls - are attracted by the prospect of a well-paid job as a domestic servant, waitress or factory worker. Traffickers recruit victims through fake advertisements, mail-order bride catalogues and casual acquaintances.

Upon arrival at their destination, victims are placed in conditions controlled by traffickers while they are exploited to earn illicit revenues. Many are physically confined, their travel or identity documents are taken away and they or their families are threatened if they do not cooperate. Women and girls forced to work as prostitutes are blackmailed by the threat that traffickers will tell their families. Trafficked children are dependent on their traffickers for food, shelter and other basic necessities. Traffickers also play on victims' fears that authorities in a strange country will prosecute or deport them if they ask for help.

Trafficking in human beings is a global issue, but a lack of systematic research means that reliable data on the trafficking of human beings that would allow comparative analyses and the design of countermeasures is scarce. There is a need to strengthen the criminal justice response to trafficking through legislative reform, awareness-raising and training, as well as through national and international cooperation. The support and protection of victims who give evidence is key to prosecuting the ringleaders behind the phenomenon.

The definition of trafficking in the “UN Protocol To Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in persons, Especially Women and Children” is the first ever international definition of trafficking.

"(a) ' Trafficking in persons' shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability [interpretative note (63)] or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation [interpretative note (64)], forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;"

The Trafficking Protocol contains the first international definition of 'trafficking in persons'. It takes a different approach to trafficking from that contained in the 1949 Convention, which focused only on prostitution and considered all prostitution, voluntary and forced, to be trafficking.

Forced labour, slavery and servitude are defined in international law and those definitions can be incorporated into domestic legislation. As "exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" are not defined in international law, governments would have to develop clear definitions for their criminal codes. If they do not define the phrase or define it unclearly, then convictions will be difficult because prosecutors will not know what they have to prove. Clear criminal law definitions are essential to the rule of law and the rights of the defendant.

The Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings (GPAT) was designed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime ( UNODC) in collaboration with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute ( UNICRI) and launched in March 1999. GPAT assists Member States in their efforts to combat trafficking in human beings. It highlights the involvement of organized criminal groups in human trafficking and promotes the development of effective ways of cracking down on perpetrators.

The GPAT's' overarching objective is to bring to the foreground the involvement of organized criminal groups in human trafficking and to promote the development of effective criminal justice-related responses. As the only entity focusing on the criminal justice element, the GPAT, working through UNODC's Crime Programme, brings special advantages to the fight against trafficking.