Human trafficking is a global problem with deep roots. The tales can often sound familiar:  a recruiter in a victim's home country – posing as a job agent – offers the desperate job-seeker a job in another country, promising a secure future. However, once the victim agrees, they are traumatized and forced to work for little or no pay, or as sex slaves – or both. The work of organizations like STOP International plays an important role in saving lives. 

STOP International has a three-pronged approach to achieving its goals; they include: 
• Conducting education programs to prevent potential victims from falling prey to human traffickers
• Gathering information about traffickers and their routes. The organization then encourages local authorities to intervene, and thus, to help stop traffickers
• Providing social support and psychological help to rescued victims, so they can reintegrate in the societies of their homelands
STOP International is headed by Celhia de Lavarene, who founded the organization in 2001. Jacques Paul Klein, who headed the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Bosnia, hired her to help stop the sex trade in the Balkan region. The initial program was composed of 200 police officers, and she headed it for two years. The operation rescued 300 victims, mostly from Eastern Europe. Although the operation was a relative success, it proved inadequate because STOP was the only institution doing such work.

There is still much for STOP International to do. For now, it deploys highly-regarded police officers from countries like the UK, Ukraine, Ireland, Jordan, the United States, and Russia – all of which have seen the effects of trafficking first-hand. These officers usually take a leave of absence, in order to be available for the organization for two years, or longer.