Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence in Conflict: Achievements, Challenges, and Ways Forward

Maastricht Summer School
Netherlands, Maastricht

Maastricht Summer School Netherlands, Bonnefantenstraat 2, 6211 KL Maastricht, The Netherlands

Study location	Netherlands, Maastricht
Type	Summer Courses, Full-time
Nominal duration	1 week (2 ECTS)
Study language	English
Course code	MSS0029

Tuition fee	€699 one-time

Entry qualification	Enrolled as an undergraduate student or holder of an undergraduate diploma, including those pursuing advanced studies or professional careers. Applicants must be BA or MA students (from any discipline) who have, at a minimum, a profound interest in the phenomena of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict and have proficient knowledge of English. Further, applicants are expected to be present and to participate actively throughout the course. The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original.

Entry qualification

Enrolled as an undergraduate student or holder of an undergraduate diploma, including those pursuing advanced studies or professional careers.

Applicants must be BA or MA students (from any discipline) who have, at a minimum, a profound interest in the phenomena of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict and have proficient knowledge of English. Further, applicants are expected to be present and to participate actively throughout the course.

The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English.

Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original.

Language requirements	English The language of the course is English, so we expect a fluent level and the ability to follow and participate in class.

Language requirements

English

The language of the course is English, so we expect a fluent level and the ability to follow and participate in class.

More information	maastrichtsummerschool.nl

Description
All around the world, numerous men, women, boys and girls suffer the harsh consequences of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict. Thousands of people are forced into sexual slavery during conflict situations, and/or, when fleeing conflict, are forced by human traffickers into exploitative practices in route and in the country of destination. One only needs to watch the news about what is happening today in, for example, Syria, Central African Republic, Gaza, South Sudan, Ukraine, and in the wake of the refugee crisis in Europe, to see that these practices are ever present. Both phenomena are crimes that affect the physical and psychological integrity of human beings, communities and societies at large. Although both human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict are at times looked upon separately, there are many similarities to be found. One can think of the sexual nature that can be found in both crimes, the taboos and stigmas surrounding both crimes, the difficulty in defining the crimes, the focus on law enforcement (prosecution) rather than on prevention, prosecutorial challenges (e.g. protection, secondary victimization, reliance on victims’ testimonies), lack of comprehensibly understanding victims’ rights and needs, misconceptions about perpetrators and victims, and the fluidity of victim- and perpetrator roles, the consequences of both crimes (e.g. trauma, children born as a result), the causes and purposes of the crimes, to name a few.
The UN Secretary General in its report on conflict-related sexual violence of 15 April 2017 for the first time reported about the link between conflict-related violence and trafficking in persons. It was held that the term conflict-related sexual violence also encompasses trafficking in persons when committed in situations of conflict for the purpose of sexual violence/exploitation. In Resolution 2331 (2016) of 20 December 2016 of the UN Security Council was, moreover, the nexus between human trafficking, sexual violence, terrorism and transnational organized crime for the first time addressed. With this resolution sexual violence as a tactic of terrorism was officially acknowledged. In looking at both human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict – both in their own right and together – a contribution is made to better understand the opportunities and challenges involved and to find ways forward in addressing these timely crimes. We will discuss the achievements, challenges and ways forward in combatting these crimes, the protection of victims and the prevention of the crimes, by interactive lectures in the morning. During the break students will work on group assignments, which will be discussed during an interactive afternoon session.

Goals
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
• Identify and describe the phenomena of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict.
• Identify, analyse, and critically assess the differences and overlap between the crimes of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict.
• Identify, analyse, and critically assess the opportunities, challenges and ways forward in addressing human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict through legal and non-legal mechanisms, including from a victim’s perspective and a preventive angle.
At the end of this course, participants will have the skills to:
• Conduct research on human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict and the nexus between both crimes.
• Work together in groups on the phenomena of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict.
• Present on the phenomena of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict.
• Formulate arguments, defend positions on the phenomena of human trafficking and sexual violence in conflict.

Recommended literature
• UN Secretary General, Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, 24 April 2024, UN Doc S/2024/292.Available at: www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SG-2023-annual-reportsmallFINAL.pdf
• Dara Kay Cohen,Amelia Hoover Green and Elisabeth Jean Wood, Wartime Sexual Violence: Misconceptions, Implications, and Ways Forward, United States Instituteof Peace, Special Report, 2013 (16 pp). Available at: www.usip.org/sites/default/files/wartime%20sexual%20violence.pdf.
• Rina Ghafoerkhan,Willem Scholte, Eefje de Volder and Anne-Marie de Brouwer, ‘The Nexus between Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Trafficking for SexualExploitation in Times of Conflict’, Journal of Trafficking and Human Exploitation 2019/1(3): 9-34.
• Anne-Marie de Brouwer, The Importance ofUnderstanding Sexual Violence in Conflict for Investigating and Prosecution Purposes, 48(3) Cornell International Law Journal (2015) 639-666.Available at: www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/ILJ/upload/de-Brouwer-final-2.pdf
• Testimonial from Pascasie from the book ‘And I Live On’(2019). Available at: www.impact-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Booklet-AND-I-LIVE-ON.pdf
• Ragnhild Nordas, Preventing Conflict-related Sexual Violence, PRIO Policy Brief, 02, 2013 (4 pp). Available at: file.prio.no/publication_files/prio/Nordas-Preventing-Conflict-related-Sexual-Violence-PRIO-Policy-Brief-02-2013.pdf.
• Inger Skjelsbæk, Preventing Perpetrators: How To Go from Protection to Prevention of SexualViolence in War?, PRIO Policy Brief Oslo, 03, 2013 (4 pp). Available at file.prio.no/publication_files/prio/Skjelsbaek-Preventing-Perpetrators-PRIO- Policy-Brief-03-2013.pdf.
• The Inter-agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), 20th Anniversary of the Trafficking inPersons Protocol: An Analytical Review (2020). Available at:https://icat.un.org/sites/g/files/tmzbdl461/files/publications/analytical_review_paper_final-2.pdf
• Jean Allain, ‘Conceptualizing the Exploitation ofHuman Trafficking’, in: J Bryson Clark & S Poucki, The Sage Handbook of Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery (Sage Publications 2019) pp.3-17. Available at: www.researchgate.net/publication/325846087_Conceptualizing_the_Exploitation_of_Human_Trafficking – Amy Farrel andBrianne Kane, ‘Criminal Justice System Responses to Human Trafficking’ 642-657, in: John Winterdyk and Jackie Jones,
• The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking (2020, Springer).link-springer-com.tilburguniversity.idm.oclc.org/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-63058-8_40.pdf
• Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW), Unmet Needs: Emotional Support and Care after Trafficking, Briefing Paper, 2015 (8pp). Available at: www.gaatw.org/publications/GAATW_Briefing_Paper_Unmet_Needs.10.2015.pdf.
• Janie Chuang, ‘Beyond a Snapshot:Preventing Human Trafficking in the Global Economy’, 13(1) Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies (2006) 137-163. Availableat:http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1323&context=ijgls.
• Amy Farrel and Brianne Kane, ‘Criminal Justice SystemResponses to Human Trafficking’ 642-657, in: John Winterdyk and Jackie Jones, The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking (2020,Springer). Available at: link-springer-com.tilburguniversity.idm.oclc.org/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-63058-8_40.pdf.
• UNODC, ToolkitChapter 8 ‘Assistance to Victims’, Principles of Victim Assistance (8.1-8.3), Types of Victim Assistance (8.4-8.10) and Justice for Victims 8.16-8.17).available at: www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Toolkit-files/07-89375_Ebook[1].pdf
• Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women(GAATW), Unmet Needs: Emotional Support and Care after Trafficking, Briefing Paper, 2015 (8 pp). Available at:http://www.gaatw.org/publications/GAATW_Briefing_Paper_Unmet_Needs.10.2015.pdf.
• Janie Chuang, ‘Beyond a Snapshot: Preventing HumanTrafficking in the Global Economy’, 13(1) Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies (2006) 137-163. Availableat:http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1323&context=ijgls.
• Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action againstTrafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), Online and technology -facilitated trafficking in human beings Summary and recommendations (March 2022),available at: rm.coe.int/online-and-technology-facilitated-trafficking-in-human-beings-summary-/1680a5e10c