Law/Politics/Geography: Human Rights & Modern Slavery – University Tutorial With Professor Ryszard Piotrowicz From Aberystwyth University

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In this live interactive tutorial, designed for Law, Politics and Geography students, we will be joined by Ryszard Piotrowicz, Professor of Law in the Department of Law & Criminology at Aberystwyth University, who will explore Human Rights and Modern Slavery.

From the clothes you wear, to the food you eat, everything has to be produced by workers. In many countries, the workers involved, including children, are exploited. Yet it is almost impossible to buy items which you know have been produced ethically – that is, without exploiting anyone in the supply chain. 

This talk will explain what we mean by modern slavery, how it is prevalent in many parts of the economy, and what governments can, and should, do about it. The speaker has worked for eight years monitoring anti-trafficking efforts throughout Europe.

The full context/introduction to this live and interactive discussion is provided in the Headliner recorded resource below. This recording can be watched as a class activity or independently in preparation for the discussion (see also Preparation/Pre-Reading below).

The session aims to deepen students’ understanding of the topic whilst enabling them to access and experience a live online university tutorial.

Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Professor Ryszard Piotrowicz

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but the Headliner recording will continue to be accessible.

Suitable for: Key Stage 5, and equivalent, students studying or with an interest in studying Law, Politics, Geography and related subjects. Teachers and members of school staff, as always, are welcome too and participants can join as individuals from school/college or home, or as a group from school/college.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students are asked to watch the Headliner recording and consider the following questions in advance of the live session.

1. How/why do people end up in modern slavery?
2. Can you suggest examples of the types of exploitation people are subjected to?
3. Should a young person forced into transporting illegal drugs (county lines) be penalized (prosecuted) if they are caught? If yes, why? If no, why not?
4. A is trafficked from country X to the UK and subjected to sexual exploitation (forced prostitution). One day, in order to escape, she stabbed the persons exploiting her. Should she be prosecuted?
5. A foreigner trafficked to the UK is freed from their situation of exploitation. Should they have to return to their home country? Can you think of reasons why this may not be possible?
6. Regarding the postcard with a picture of a young woman, seemingly being controlled like a puppet – this was intended to raise awareness of the risks of being trafficked for sexual exploitation. Where would you distribute these postcards in order to reach your audience most effectively – your audience being young women thinking of accepting job offers abroad?

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

Register here