Counter Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia (SEA)
Human trafficking is often described as the new form of slavery for the 21st century. Despite difficulties in collecting data, recent analyses confirm that it is a serious and ongoing problem in many areas and much still needs to be done to prevent it, protect victims and ultimately eradicate it. In recent years, work has been carried out on the impact of counter trafficking, but more is needed on counter trafficking itself.
This online course is going to examine the programmes, practices and activities of counter trafficking by analysing aspects such as raids and rescues, litigation, organising, education. In particular, it will do so by looking at the specific case of South-East Asia (SEA).
The course is going to speak to experts in this area from trade unions, NGOs, international organisations and ask them how counter trafficking is done, what kind of organisations are involved, what the successes, challenges and failures are and what the role of research is, with the aim to equip participants with valuable insights, knowledge and skills.
Learning objectives
Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
- identify key regional/national stakeholders in business, government, and civil society sectors and map relationships between them;
- know legal standards and mechanisms at the international/regional/national level, and their inter-relationship;
- think critically about challenges to enforcement and ability to explain gaps between standards and compliance;
- identify violations and groups most vulnerable to trafficking;
- debate the effectiveness of protection measures such as raids and shelters, identifying key priorities and challenges in research on trafficking;
- understand and assess programming and actions in counter trafficking;
- identify key points of advocacy around law and policy.
Content
This online course will study the programmes, practices and activities of counter trafficking. It will do so by speaking to experts from Trade Unions, NGOs and International Organisations who will examine case studies from their work and will debate the efficacy of actions in this area.
The course is structured in five Classes. The first Class provides an overview of trafficking, including definitions, laws, mechanisms and tools, with a specific focus on Southeast Asia. Class 2 examines advocacy around law and policy, including the importance of harmonisation. Class 3 discusses research on trafficking and some challenges, such as determining numbers and agreeing upon a definition. Class 4 debates the role of trade unions, which is crucial in ensuring that workers are informed and their rights are respected. Class 5 examines the challenges, strengths and weaknesses of current programming in countering child trafficking.
The course is self-paced and consists of interviews, case-studies and quizzes.
Methodology
The course has been designed with a sequence of issues in mind that have been built around 5 weeks. This would be the ideal time for completion, but it could take less or more depending on the pace that each participant sets for it. In total, we expect participants to engage in approximately 25 hours of active learning through readings, videos and quizzes. The course is aimed at developing and reinforcing personal critical reflection. Case studies and real-life examples will be used to enable a multidimensional understanding of the topic.
Target Audience
The course is free to audit and open to ‘leaders of the future’ who envision a world free from human trafficking: upper year undergraduates and postgraduates; NGO activists and practitioners; young lawyers and social scientists; active and motivated citizens from around the world and all those interested in interdisciplinary human rights, migration, children’s rights, advocacy, workers’ empowerment.
Certificate of completion
All our courses are free to audit. You do not receive a certificate if you audit a course, but you can print your progress page for the course if you want evidence of your achievement. For those who would like or need to have official proof that they have completed one of our online courses, we offer the option of earning a Certificate of Completion with a Transcript of Records. At the end of the course, participants who have successfully passed the Final Quiz of the course and wish to receive the official confirmation of completion, can request the related certificate with transcript upon payment of a small fee of 49 Euro.
Coordination
The course has been developed under the leadership of the Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Asia Pacific (APMA) coordinated by Institute for Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University, Thailand, which is one of the seven regional programmes of the Global Campus of Human Rights.