MOOC on Combating Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is one of the most serious human rights violations and the third most lucrative criminal activity worldwide. Forced labour alone generates nearly $236 billion in illicit profits each year, and an estimated 50 million people are in situations of modern slavery worldwide (ILO, IOM, & Walk Free, 2022). However, officially identified victims represent only a fraction of the actual estimated number, and the number of convictions of traffickers is declining globally (UNODC, 2023). In the face of an ever-growing phenomenon exacerbated by armed conflicts, mass population displacement, and the rise of new technologies that open new avenues of exploitation and recruitment for traffickers, training and awareness-raising are essential yet underutilized tools.
Against this backdrop, this project proposes creating a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to provide professionals, academics, and students with the legal knowledge, analytical skills, and practical abilities necessary to understand, recognize, and respond effectively to human trafficking in all its forms.
The course will shed light on key aspects of Human Trafficking, and will be structured into 8 to 9 modules:
- Introduction
- Forced labour and supply chains
- Trafficking for sexual exploitation
- Forced criminality
- Trafficking in, around and through sport
- Migration, migrant smuggling and human trafficking
- Armed conflicts and trafficking
- New challenges: digital technologies and emerging forms
- Towards justice: prosecution, reparation and rehabilitation
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Define and analyse the phenomenon of human trafficking in its multiple forms (forced labour, sexual exploitation, forced criminality, trafficking linked to sport or to armed conflicts) and explain its root causes, scale and legal frameworks.
- Distinguish human trafficking from related concepts such as migrant smuggling, and understand the specific vulnerabilities created by migration, displacement, poverty, disabilities, gender, armed conflict and digital environments.
- Recognise the signs of trafficking across different contexts and sectors and apply appropriate referral mechanisms to connect potential victims with support and protection services.
- Understand the criminal justice response to trafficking (from investigation and prosecution to international cooperation) and describe complementary approaches such as restorative justice and the principle of non-punishment.
- Identify concrete levers for action at the individual, organisational and institutional level to prevent trafficking and raise awareness within their own professional environment.