Tilburg, Netherlands

Justice for Victims of Conflict-related Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking?

online course
when 12 July 2021 - 23 July 2021
language English
duration 2 weeks
credits 6 EC
fee EUR 900

All around the world, numerous men, women, boys and girls suffer the harsh consequences of conflict-related sexual violence and human trafficking. Thousands of men, women and children are forced into sexual slavery or raped during conflict-situations, and/or, when fleeing conflict, are forced by human traffickers into exploitative practices en route and in the country of destination. One only needs to watch the news about what is happening today in (former) conflict areas 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 integrity of human beings and cause gender inequality worldwide. In addressing both crimes, which take place in conflict, transitional and/or peacetime situations, a contribution is made to remedy that injustice.

Course leader

Dr. Anne-Marie de Brouwer and Dr. Eefje de Volder of Impact: Center against Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence in Conflict

Target group

Bachelor’s / Master’s students of any discipline with a strong interest in the topic.

Course aim

During this two-week course we will look into the opportunities and challenges in addressing both crimes. Among the questions we will address are:

How can conflict-related sexual violence be investigated and prosecuted before local, national and international criminal tribunals as part of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes?
Does the approach to address the business model of human traffickers (targeting the profit) contribute effectively to combatting the crime?
What are the needs and rights of victims/survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and human trafficking to ensure justice?
And how can these crimes be prevented? For example, how do we prevent that military peacekeepers engage in sexual violence as witnessed in the Central African Republic?
The ultimate goal of this summer course is to critically assess whether the current approaches are contributing to realizing justice.

This course includes:

An intensive two week program of interactive lectures with group assignments;
Interdisciplinary lecturers (De Brouwer and De Volder) who teach from both an academic and practical perspective (e.g. research and field expertise), including guest lecturers;
You are expected to:

Prepare for interactive lectures through reading assigned materials;
Be present and actively participate during the interactive lectures;
Demonstrate the learned skills in a practical assignment at the end of each lecture day;
Demonstrate the ability to critically approach and assess contemporary issues in relation to the phenomena of conflict-related sexual violence and human trafficking in a concluding written exam on the last day of the course. During the exam you can use a dictionary if preferred.

Fee info

EUR 900: - 10% discount for current Tilburg University students*
- 10% discount for students from partner universities*

*Combining discounts is not possible

Scholarships

No scholarships available.