Global Human Trafficking (315-0-20)
Instructors
Tabitha Bonilla
Meeting Info
Annenberg Hall 303: Mon 9:00AM - 11:50AM
Overview of class
Human Trafficking, sometimes know as "Modern Slavery," a global problem that ensnares millions of
men, women, and children each year. Some estimates indicate that despite laws declaring trafficking
illegal, the illicit practice currently victimizes more individuals than the height of the African Slave
Trade. While policy to enhance anti-trafficking efforts and to improve victim protections has
rapidly been approved, there are still questions about successful implementation of those policies
and important questions about elite influence in the development of equitable policies. From a
policy perspective, human trafficking is difficult to address because the entire practice is illicit, and
as a result, hidden. Further, trafficking often victimizes individuals who are already vulnerable
due to poverty, immigration status, youth, domestic abuse, and/or drug abuse, which means anti-
trafficking policy often overlaps with many other policy spheres including immigration, security,
environmental policy, sex industry policies, and health policy.
This class gives an overview of the development of the African slavery in the United States, as a
window into slavery generally and what has and has not changed. In particular, we consider how
human trafficking could rise following the legal emancipation of slaves in the 19th century. We will
follow the development of modern anti-trafficking policy as it arose from distinct policy areas for
sex (the Mann Act) and labor (peonage and indentured law statues) and how these distinctions
both inform and limit current policy efforts. We will also investigate the difficult of addressing
trafficking, both from a governmental and non-governmental perspective. We will also consider
how trafficking varies globally, particularly how differences in policy definitions and institutional
structures matter for successful prosecution of trafficking. The class will also discuss the roles of
the public and the media in development and limitations of anti-trafficking policy. We will talk
about the difficulties in both defining the extent of human trafficking and assessments of current
policy. Finally, we will consider how the case of trafficking within the United States fits within a
global endemic, and how national efforts matter to international work.