Part 2.2 PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING INTRODUCTION In the context of trafficking in persons, prevention refers to positive measures to stop future acts of trafficking from occurring. Policies and activities identified as “prevention” are generally those considered to be addressing the causes of trafficking. While there is not yet universal agreement on the complex matter of causes, the most commonly cited causative factors are those that: (i) increase vulnerability of victims and potential victims; (ii) create or sustain demand for the goods and services produced by trafficked persons; and (iii) create or sustain an environment within which traffickers and their accomplices can operate with impunity. From this perspective, prevention can be seen to include a wide range of measures – from providing women with fair and equal migration opportunities, to strengthening the criminal justice response in order to end impunity and deter future traffickingrelated crimes. The Trafficking Principles and Guidelines consider prevention under three main headings that generally correspond to the categories identified above: reducing demand for trafficking (Principle 4 and related guidelines); addressing the factors that increase vulnerability to trafficking (Principle 5 and related guidelines); and identifying and eradicating public-sector involvement in, and corruption related to, trafficking (Principle 6 and related guidelines). Each of these prevention goals is considered separately below. The prevention aspects of other obligations and responses are dealt with as they arise throughout the Commentary. The principles of State responsibility, as set out under Principle 2 and related guidelines and discussed further throughout this section, confirm that States bear some responsibility for preventing the occurrence of an internationally wrongful act such as trafficking and its associated harms. The standard implied in this obligation is one of due diligence: the State is required to take “all reasonable and necessary measures to prevent a given event from occurring”.167 A decision on what is “reasonable or appropriate” in the context of prevention will require consideration of the facts of the case and surrounding circumstances, including the capacities of the State, as well as of the relevant primary rules. “[B]ut without warranting that the event will not occur” (Draft articles on State responsibility, art. 14, para. 14). 167 COMMENTARY 95