The global response to trafficking in persons is the main topic of this issue of Forum on Crime and Society. Following the ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, in 2003, many countries have introduced new or improved existing legislative provisions to tackle this crime more effectively. Trafficking in persons is now a specific offence in many countries, at least for its most common purposes, namely sexual exploitation and forced labour. The present article provides a broad overview of how countries worldwide have so far responded to trafficking in persons.