CfP: Forced Displacement in an Urbanizing World (IASFM20, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

May 31, 2024 · by · in Call for papers

IASFM20
Forced Displacement in an Urbanizing World

Yogyakarta, Indonesia
21-23 January 2025

Panel Proposal: Co-production of Knowledge and Building Positive Outcomes with Children and Young People Affected by Human Trafficking

Human trafficking has emerged as an increasingly important concern of governments around the world. Numerous empirical studies explore why and how people who move across international borders sometimes enter, remain or face barriers to leaving forms of extreme exploitation due to lack of access to safe migration, restrictions on asylum, heightened securitisation, externalising border controls and forms of social exclusion that contribute to exploitative practices. Responses to human trafficking are often phrased as being around prevention, protection of ‘victims’, prosecution of ‘traffickers’ and partnership with other agencies. The co-creation of knowledge in this space increasingly involves working with ‘survivors’ of human trafficking through the creation of separate advisory boards, with some exceptions of survivor-led knowledge production. Additionally, work is ongoing relating to the co-production of knowledge to build frameworks around ensuring positive outcomes with adults, children and young people so that experiences of trafficking do not impede people’s rights or entitlements and allow for personal growth and space for personal aspiration.

This panel seeks to explore these topics by looking at three key sets of questions: (1) questions about the nature of understanding human trafficking; (2) questions about the co-creation of knowledge around human trafficking; and (3) questions around ensuring positive outcomes and how stable futures can be built. The following questions are not exhaustive.

Questions about the nature of understanding human trafficking can include:

  • How is ‘human trafficking’ understood within a forced migration framework?
  • Do terms such as ‘trafficking’, ‘smuggling’, ‘refugee’ and ‘migrant’ provide adequate understandings of lived experiences?
  • How do the binary positions of ‘forced’ and ‘voluntary’ migration relate to ‘human trafficking’?
  • Do ‘survivor’ advisory panels adequately engage and empower ‘victims’/’survivors’ of trafficking?

Questions about the co-creation of knowledge around human trafficking can include:

  • Who is best placed to explore questions about the nature of understanding human trafficking?
  • What key methods should be used in the co-production and co-creation of knowledge in this domain?
  • How should human trafficking be framed in terms of its interface with migration, forced migration and/or other processes of exploitation?
  • Can we conceptualise exploitation at different stages of migration and what value would this bring to the topic?
  • Can ‘thicker’, richer and more nuanced accounts help the study of human trafficking move beyond stereotypical representations and dominant narratives to assist problematizing current concepts and frameworks?
  • How might ‘extractive’ research methods be creatively replaced with more democratic knowledge production and use in this field?
  • Should we move beyond a ‘victim/survivor’ binary to help us better understand the complex subjectivities and lived experiences of exploitation? How?
  • How do gendered understandings inform these debates?

Questions around building stable and positive futures and the role of outcomes frameworks can include:

  • What value is there in the terminology of ‘modern slavery’ in broader forced migration terms?
  • For refugees ‘durable solutions’ have and continue to be key responses to forced displacement – could and/or should ‘durable solutions’ also include people who have experienced human trafficking?
  • What frameworks are needed to respond to human trafficking?
  • Could the development of outcomes frameworks addressing outcomes for ‘victims’/‘survivors’ of human trafficking be beneficial?
  • Could outcome frameworks enhance focus on the capabilities and rights of those affected by human trafficking? If so, what room might exist for a focus on post-trafficking growth rather than any focus on criminal justice or immigration?
  • For children and young people how can it be ensured that responses are framed within child protection and right-based protections rather than viewed through a criminal justice or immigration lens?

Please send a 250 word Abstract to: Patricia Hynes – p.hynes@shu.ac.uk – and Anna Skeels – SkeelsA1@cardiff.ac.uk

The submission deadline has been extended to June 16 2024.

Please be aware that a submission to this call does not necessarily guarantee the whole panel proposal will be accepted by IASFM. However, we will be in touch as soon as this becomes clear.