Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
Nil
Teaching organisation
4 hours per week for twelve weeks or equivalent.
Unit rationale, description and aim
Human trafficking is considered one of the fastest-growing illicit businesses, after arms and drugs. This unit introduces the context of human trafficking, history, and complexity as a transnational organised crime. This unit begins by helping students to identify and describe different types of trafficking such as sex, labour, and child and organ trafficking. Traffickers use different strategies to exploit victims to fulfill their purposes and those means of exploitation differ from country to country. This unit also explores the issue of exploitation and vulnerability from different theoretical angles such as Feminist, Marxist, and Critical Race theory.
Students will also be introduced to the international and regional legal frameworks and state responsibilities to combat human trafficking. It will also address the contemporary responses undertaken by Australia as a destination country. The central focus of this unit will be the rights of trafficked victims and their status both in destination and source countries. Finally, students will become familiar with the responses of international organisations and NGOs, which are more active than the state in working against trafficking. Students will learn how NGOs can effectively support victims, or work with the state actors.
The aim of the unit is to develop students' knowledge and understanding of the principles and practices relating to human trafficking offences and the rights of trafficked victims.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Crtically examine the context of human trafficking with classification and analyse the definitional debates |
| LO2 | Comparative analysis and understand the rights of trafficked victims both in destination and source countries |
| LO3 | Evaluate critically the contemporary responses and state responsibilities to human trafficking |
| LO4 | Conduct guided basic research by identifying and analysing academic sources, using a range of library resources and databases, and apply appropriate referencing conventions relevant to the discipline |
Content
Topics will include:
- The context of Human Trafficking: Transnational Organised Crime
- Types of Exploitation and Case Studies : Sex, Labour and Child Trafficking
- Human, Organ Trafficking and Illegal Organ Transplantation : The Definitional debates
- Human trafficking, Illegal Migration and Refugees
- Theory and vulnerability to Human Trafficking
- State Responsibility and International Criminal Law
- State Responsibility and International Human Rights Law
- Regional Response to Human Exploitation
- Australia's response to Human Trafficking
- The Needs of Victims
- Criminalising Victims and the Principle of Non -Punishment
- Role of International Organisations and NGOs against Human Trafficking
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The strategy is to encourage students to actively engage with unit content and their peers; to provide a clear link between lecture content to develop an authentic, case-based understanding of human exploitation and related laws and policies. Within an integrated learning framework, lectures will provide core content relating to the topics identified above and begin a process of active, engaged, exploration which will be deepened by detailed explanations and further investigation in classes.
This unit helps students to develop their knowledge of human trafficking laws and policies (including international, domestic, and regional). Students are then encouraged to critically analyse implementation by examining case studies and state practices. Each component is intended to build on knowledge, understanding, and skills to progressively scaffold student learning.
The online learning platform used in this unit provides multiple preparatory and practice opportunities to guide in-class and out-of-class study. Online learning assistance in the form of learning resources, notices, and assessment information (including online submission, marking, and return of results/feedback), is student-focused, affording greater accessibility and flexibility to the learning experience.
Assessment strategy and rationale
This unit has three assessment tasks that are designed to scaffold learning, as well as to determine learning outcomes.
The first assessment task will cover Short Answer Responses. This assessment builds their knowledge of human trafficking as a transnational organised crime and other complexities related to human exploitation This aligns with the first learning outcome. The second assessment task will be the Group Presentation (Case Study Presentation). It requires students to demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language. It also requires students critically evaluate the rights of trafficked victims both in destination and source countries. They require to research and present their findings to the class. The third assessment task will be a Research Essay. This assessment develops skills around evaluating state responsibilities and domestic and international legal frameworks related to human exploitation.
For each assessment, there will be the incorporation of developmentally staged tasks with a focus on a progressive approach to learning. This will be achieved through activities, including regular feedback, particularly early in the unit of study to support their learning; strategies to develop and understand discipline-specific concepts and terminology; in-class practice tasks with integrated feedback; and greater peer-to-peer collaboration.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment 1: Short Answer Responses This assessment builds their knowledge of human trafficking as a transnational organised crime and other complexities related to human exploitation. Student requires to complete two short answer responses. Questions are designed to allow students to demonstrate their developing skills in locating, referencing, and analysing research materials. A rubric will be utilised for this assessment. | 20% | LO1, LO4 |
Assessment 2: Group Presentation ( Case study presentation) Requires students to demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language. It also requires students critically evaluate the rights of human trafficking victims both in destination and source countries. They require to research and present their findings to the class. Students will have the opportunities to compare each other works. | 30% | LO2, LO4 |
Assessment 3: Research Essay This assessment develops skills around evaluating state responsibilities and domestic and international legal frameworks related to human exploitation. Students require to select a particular country and investigate in depth how that country complies with international standards. | 50% | LO3, LO4 |
This Unit requires you to use the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition referencing system. Please see: Library Guide: APA 7 - Referencing - Library guides at Australian Catholic University (acu.edu.au)
Representative texts and references
Reeves, J. (2021). Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (J. Reeves, Ed.). IntechOpen.
Piotrowicz, R., Rijken, C., & Uhl, B. H. (2017). Routledge Handbook of Human Trafficking (First edition.). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315709352
Allain, J. (2017). White slave traffic in international law. Journal of Trafficking and Human Exploitation, 1(1), 1-40.
Perrin, B., Reichel, P. L., & Winterdyk, J. (2012). Human trafficking : exploring the international nature, concerns, and complexities. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b11555
Gallagher, A. T. (2010). The international law of human trafficking. Cambridge University Press.
Allain, J. (2010). “Rantsev v Cyprus and Russia”: The European Court of Human Rights and trafficking as slavery. Human Rights Law Review, 10(3), 546–557. https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngq025
Alston, P., & Goodman, R. (2013). International human rights. Oxford University Press.
Campdepadrós Cullell, R. (2019). The pimping of prostitution: abolishing the sex work myth.
Raigrodski, D. (2017). CREATIVE CAPITALISM AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A BUSINESS APPROACH TO ELIMINATE FORCED LABOR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING FROM GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS. William & Mary Business Law Review, 8(1), 71.
Kara, Siddharth, Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective (Columbia University Press, 2017).