Human Trafficking in Poland and Around the World 2100-MON-HLPS-OG

The course comprises 30 hours of instruction organized into six thematic blocks:

Block I – History of Slavery
 Ethical Issues of Enslavement.
 History of Slavery.
 Analysis of Social Systems Founded on Slavery.
 A Brief History of the Abolition of Slavery

Block II – Human Trafficking and Forced Labor as Modern-Day Slavery.
 Sources of Enslavement in the Contemporary World.
 Phenomenal Forms of Contemporary Human Trafficking and Forced Labor.
 New Forms and Phenomena Bordering on Human Trafficking.
 Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling.

Block III – International and European legal regulations regarding trafficking in human beings.
 Basic international documents (UN, EU, CoE).
 Institutions dealing with eliminating trafficking in human beings (UN, EU, European Council of Europe, OSCE, IOM, ILO).
 International cooperation in the field of eliminating trafficking in human beings.
 Evolution of international law regarding trafficking in human beings.

Block IV – Eliminating human trafficking in Poland.
 A short history of the phenomenon against the background of political and social changes.
 Legal regulations.
 Institutions involved in eliminating human trafficking. Analysis of the system for counteracting human trafficking in Poland. Media image of the phenomenon of human trafficking in Poland.

Block V – Victim of human trafficking
 Etiology of being a victim of human trafficking – push factors and pull factors.
 International standards regarding the position of victims of trafficking in human beings - state obligations.
 International cooperation for victims of human trafficking.
 Partnership National institutions for victims of human trafficking.

Block VI – Prevention Programs and Education
 International and European national initiatives for researching the phenomenon of human trafficking.
 Human trafficking prevention programs.
 Raising public awareness – media and education.

Course coordinators

Zbigniew Lasocik

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Field classes
Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

This course is intended for students in their final years of bachelor's and master's degrees. Basic knowledge of social sciences, sociology, law, or criminology is recommended

Learning outcomes

Knowledge
After completing the course, the student:

LO 1. has in-depth knowledge of selected social phenomena, with particular emphasis on contemporary slavery, human trafficking, and forced labor (W03, W05),
LO 2. has knowledge of the origins of these phenomena and the conditions that cause them to transform over time and in cultural space (W01, W04, W05).
LO 3. has expanded and in-depth knowledge of Knowledge of various institutions serving to counteract and resolve conflicts and crises occurring in contemporary states (W06),
LO 4. Has in-depth knowledge of measures to protect human and civil rights and freedoms (W09),
LO 5. Has in-depth knowledge of institutional solutions in the international and regional security system (W10).

Skills
After completing the course, the student:
LO 6. Is able to assess the role of social and cultural factors in the phenomenon of human trafficking and analyze its development in Poland and worldwide (U01, U02),
LO 7. Is able to independently distinguish and define the most typical forms of human trafficking (U01, U02).

Competencies
After completing the course, the student:
LO 8. Is able to assess the effectiveness of the assistance system offered to victims of human trafficking (K01),
LO 9. Is able to conduct a field exercise involving gathering opinions on the phenomenon and is able to conduct an interview with an expert (K01).

Assessment criteria

Credit requirements:
 Teamwork, research, presentation of results
 Written test (optional)
 Class attendance (no absence limit)

Practical placement

Bibliography

- Handel ludźmi – zapobieganie i ściganie, podręcznik, Warszawa 2006, Z. Lasocik, red., Uniwersytet Warszawski,
- tamże: B. Nowak, Współczesny handel ludźmi a nowożytny handel niewolnikami,
- tamże: Krótki kalendarium atlantyckiego handlu niewolnikami, s. 49,
I. Bieżuńska-Małowist, M. Małowist, Niewolnictwo, Warszawa 1987.
- Z. Lasocik, Handel ludźmi – aspekty społeczne i prawne, Studia Socjologiczne nr 4/2007.
Z. Lasocik, M. Koss, Ł. Wieczorek (red.) Handel dziećmi.
- Wybrane problemy, Warszawa 2007, UW.
- Trafficking in Ukraine. An assessment of the current response, Kijów 2005, s. 43-52 oraz 58-64.
- Human trafficking: a challenge for the European Union and its member states (with particular reference to Poland), w: Trafficking and Human Rights. European and Asia-Pacific Perspectives, Leslie Holmes (ed.), Cheltenham/Northampton 2010, Edward Elgar, s. 18 – 36.
- Z. Lasocik, Ł. Wieczorek, Handel ludźmi do pracy przymusowej w Polsce – raport z badań, Warszawa 2010, Ośrodek Badań Handlu Ludźmi. .
- Trafficking in Person Report. June 2016 lub 2017, US State Department.
- Z. Lasocik, Ł. Wieczorek, Trafficking for Forced Labour in Poland, w: Trafficking for Forced Labour and Labour Exploitation in Finland, Poland and Estonia, A. Jokinen, N. Ollus, K. Aromaa (eds.), Helsinki 2011, HEUNI.
- Eliminowanie handlu ludźmi w Polsce. Analiza systemu, Zbigniew Lasocik (red.), Warszawa 2011, Ośrodek Badań Handlu Ludźmi UW.
- ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labour. Results and methodology, Geneva 2012, ILO.
- Global Slavery Index 2023
- Handel narządami. Spory wokół interpretacji przepisów karnych ustawy transplantacyjnej, Z. Lasocik, E. Rekosz (red.), Warszawa 2011, Ośrodek Badań Handlu Ludźmi UW.
- Studying Human Trafficking for Forced Labor: The Polish Experience, Journal of Human Rights and Civil Society, Issue 5, Fall 2012, John Hopkins University.
- Trafficking in organs, tissues and sells and trafficking in human beings for the purpose of the removal of organs, Strasbourg 2009, Council of Europe, UN.
- Third Focused Study 2013. Identification of victims of trafficking in human beings in international protection and forced return procedures, European Migration Network, 2013
- The Organization of Human Trafficking. Report 2008:21, BRA, Stockholm 2008.
- Reakcja polityczna i prawna wobec handlu ludźmi w Polsce oraz w wybranych krajach Unii Europejskiej, [w:] Przestępczość cudzoziemców. Aspekty prawne, kryminologiczne i praktyczne, W. Klaus, K. Laskowska, I. Rzeplińska (red.), Warszawa 2017, Wydawnictwo Naukowe SCHOLAR
- Ofiary handlu ludźmi, Lidia Mazowiecka (red.), Warszawa 2014, Lex a Wolters Kluwer business.
- Identyfikacja ofiar handlu ludźmi w ramach procedur przyznawania ochrony międzynarodowej, Warszawa 2013, Krajowy Punkt Kontaktowy Europejskiej Sieci Migracyjnej w Polsce, MSW.
- Handel ludźmi i praca przymusowa. Najważniejsze przepisy prawa krajowego i międzynarodowego, Z. Lasocik, M. Tarnowska (red.), Warszawa 2017, Ośrodek Badań Handlu Ludźmi UW.
- Eksploatacja seksualna w Europie z perspektywy popytu. Raport z badań międzynarodowych, Z. Lasocik, Ł. Wieczorek (red.), Warszawa 2024, Wyd. UW,
- Przeciw niewolnictwu i handlowi ludźmi. "Głosy" w obronie godności ofiar z lat 1888-1938, Toruń 2026, Wydawnictwo Marszałek, s. 511 (antologia).
- Społeczne podstawy zwalczania współczesnego niewolnictwa, Przegląd Policyjny2026, Tom: 161, Nr: 1, opublikowany online: 30-03-2026
- Polityka Unii Europejskiej wobec zbrodni handlu ludźmi i nowy instrument oddziaływania, P. Waszkiewicz, M. Tomaszewska-Michalak, P. Lewulis P. Girdwoyń (red.), Księga jubileuszowa z okazji 70-lecia urodzin Profesora Tadeusza Tomaszewskiego, Wydawnictwo UW.
- Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, UNODC 2024

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes: