Human trafficking and the law: the importance of interdisciplinarity in learning and teaching

Human trafficking is a legal issue which can be found taught in standalone undergraduate modules and whose relevance reflects the volatility of today’s global world. Human trafficking is a criminal offence in most jurisdictions and consequently subject to judicial processes. However, it is also an example of a topic which is challenging to teach using legal frameworks alone. Drawing on a longstanding case study, this chapter argues that for students to make sense of the inherent complexity, law must take a backseat to the understanding of migration, criminology, policymaking, economics, employment and other key forces. That is the overconfidence that creating an offence can solve an identified problem. The paper argues that there is a need to develop Learning and Teaching methods which cultivate adaptable and transferable skills which enable students to see the relationships between all of these elements, especially in light of recent trends (ie Covid-19 and the Fourth Industrial Revolution) that have markedly reshaped the socio-political landscape.