Issues of implementation and enforcement are central to any discussion on legislation to protect and promote women’s health and women rights. In Russia, one NGO reported that they have strong laws for victims of trafficking which include financial and legal services. However, most people are not aware of the laws or that they have a right to protection and assistance if they find themselves in situations of exploitation. In the U.S. one approach to raise awareness among women experiencing domestic violence was training beauticians to recognize signs of violence and offer advice on available services. Baroness Mary Goudie, UK Member of the House of Lords, stressed the benefit of finding a celebrity or well-known expert (…I discovered these persons are otherwise known as “Lovies” in England and “Sparklies” in U.S.) to champion a social issue in order to get the massage into mainstream media.

In Serbia, the Women’s Center for Democracy and Human Rights drew attention to enforcement gaps by comparing their laws with international policies and laws. They also paid close attention to the budget to see whether money was given for enforcement and to raise awareness about the comparative costs and benefits to society of their legislative suggestions.

The take-away message from the discussion, while not easy or quick, seemed to be training and educational campaigns for all key stakeholders. Government officials must know more about the problem to induce political will behind new or old legislation; initial responders, police, judges, and the media must know about the laws and the specifics of their role in enforcement; and the public must know about their rights under the law.