A/HRC/14/32 administrative proceedings in a language which they can understand. They should also have access to free legal aid. This article also recognizes the right of victims to compensation and requests States parties to adopt legislative and other measures to guarantee compensation for victims. These measures can include the establishment of a fund for victim compensation and measures or programmes aimed at social assistance and integration of victims, which could be funded by confiscated traffickers’ assets and proceeds. In 2008, OSCE also published a study on “Compensation for Trafficked and Exploited Persons in the OSCE Region”. 89. COMMIT in the Mekong region is working on strengthening legal frameworks to include provisions on the right to support and protection for all identified victims of trafficking within judicial proceedings. It is working to fully support victims as witnesses, together with families, witnesses and informants. It will also hold a regional seminar on measures to freeze and confiscate assets of perpetrators and provide compensation to victims.4 90. Finally, the Ouagadougou Action Plan calls upon States to adopt legislative provisions for the confiscation of instruments and proceeds of trafficking and related offences and to consider legal measures which would offer victims of trafficking the possibility of obtaining compensation for damage suffered. Gender-sensitive perspectives and child-centred approaches 91. Aware of the fact that women and children are more exposed to the risks of trafficking, a number of regional mechanisms have taken steps to address their special situation and include gender mainstreaming and a child-centred approach in developing their strategies. 92. The Ouagadougou Action Plan recognizes that the empowerment of women and girls through national policies is an important part of combating trafficking, and that a gender perspective should be applied when adopting and implementing measures to prevent and combat trafficking in persons. In that context, it calls upon States to promote the empowerment of girls and women in their national policies, and to take measures to eliminate harmful customs and traditional practices and to counter cultural stereotypes, which can lead to trafficking in persons. Moreover, it invites them to provide viable employment or other livelihood opportunities for youth, particularly for young women at risk, especially in regions prone to trafficking. 93. Similarly, the SAARC Convention calls upon its States parties to promote awareness, inter alia, through the use of the media, of the problem of trafficking in women and children and its underlying causes, including the projection of negative images of women. Also active on gender mainstreaming in relation to trafficking, COMMIT in the Mekong region has taken the stance of involving both women and men in decision-making concerning counter-trafficking policies. On that basis, UNIAP works to ensure that every level of its work, from high-level forums with senior officials to community-based initiatives, includes both women and men, and that women are represented in positions of leadership and responsibility. The OAS secretariat promotes the inclusion of a gender perspective in all aspects of its work, and encourages OAS member States to send an equal number of male and female participants to all training provided or supported by OAS. 94. The CoE Convention, in addition to requiring the use of gender mainstreaming in the development, implementation and assessment of anti-trafficking measures, also contains 4 GE.10-13211 See COMMIT Sub-Regional Plan of Action (SPA II 2008–2010), available at http://www.notrafficking.org/reports_docs/commit/commit_spa2_final.pdf. 17