India: Social Work and Human Trafficking
Program Information #
This course will discuss the global problem of sex trafficking of women and children and strategies to assist victims both locally and globally. Locally, Indiana received a poor rating for assistance for human trafficking victims, as compared to other states (The Polaris Project, 2014). Sari Bari (Saribari.com) is an Indiana-based non-profit organization providing services to women in Kolkata, India to help them exit the sex trade and build economic self-sufficiency. India has a flourishing sex trafficking trade and thousands of women are in brothels against their will. Kolkata, India is a prime destination for sex traffickers who subject women and children to forced prostitution (US Dept. of State Trafficking in Persons Report, 2016).
Students in this course will gain first-hand knowledge of strategies to combat the sex-trafficking of women and children both in Indiana and in Kolkata through a variety of methods: reading books, interacting with local speakers in Indiana and India, understanding the mission and strategies of Sari Bari as well as other NGOs in India, meeting former victims of trafficking who are now working at Sari Bari in India, and assisting Sari Bari with projects that further their mission to empower women who have been trafficked. Students will also have the opportunity to observe, discuss and evaluate strategies for empowerment of victims of sex trafficking.
Dates
- Check back for future program dates!
Housing Information
- Students will stay in double-occupancy rooms in a hotel.
Academic Program #
Students will enroll in SWK-S 600 (3 credits).
This program is restricted to students of Social Work.
Program Eligibility #
All applicants must meet IU Indianapolis’s minimum standard eligibility requirements. Additional requirements for this program include:
- This program is open to Master’s of Social Work students from any IU campus.
- Students must be in good standing in their program.
- Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Selection is based on maturity, seriousness of purpose, and appropriateness of match between program and applicant.