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UW Circle of Care for Global Health and Human Rights in Spain & Morocco

Spain, Madrid, UW Global Health and Human Rights Training in Spain and Morocco to Combat Sex-Trafficking
Spain, Madrid, UW Global Health and Human Rights Training in Spain and Morocco to Combat Sex-Trafficking

This program is not planned to run in Summer 2024.
Click here for a full list of programs currently accepting applications.

Spain, Multiple

Competitive Program: This program can accept a limited number of students each year, and in the past we have received more qualified applicants than available spots. Review of applicants is based on these criteria. You may only have one open application per term, but should have an alternate program in mind in the event that you are not accepted to this program.

The UW Global Health and Human Rights Training in Spain and Morocco to Combat Sex-Trafficking program is offered by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) in partnership with IAP.

This course will use trauma-informed participatory techniques and collective discourses to develop a circle of Care and Communication between victims/survivors, staff of organizations, and UW students/course leaders. In order to elevate the experiences and suppressed voices of victims and survivors of human trafficking, this course will heavily rely on collective narratives and life stories, drawing upon the lived experience, leadership, wisdom, and courage of these remarkable human beings. “Care” and  “communication” techniques will be used to approach victims/survivors, staff of organizations. 

Spain is one of the major destination countries in Europe for women and girls trafficked from African countries, primarily from Nigeria (Benin City), for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Every year, hundreds of women and girls begin a tremendously dangerous and harsh trip throughout the African continent towards the North, with the dream of reaching Europe; by the time they arrive at the Spanish border with Morocco, most of them are already caught up in sex-trafficking networks. 

Morocco is a major transit country to migrants from sub-Saharan countries who try to reach European land. In the last few years, however, strict border control initiatives established by the European Union between Spain and Morocco have resulted in an increased number of migrants who reside more permanently in Morocco, especially in larger cities like Rabat, Casablanca, and Tangier. 

The itinerary will start in Madrid, Spain and will follow the Mediterranean coast to cross the Spain-Morocco border, the Gibraltar Strait, by ferry. We will arrive in one of the major trafficking and migration transit cities and, using a theory of self and mutual care, we will gather voices, narratives, and discourses from a variety of stakeholders involved in the migration-trafficking process at the destination country. We will take these messages to organizations and individuals in the transit settings, gathering more information and take it back to the destination country closing the circle of communication and care.

UNESCO Chair on Gender, Wellbeing, and a Culture of Peace

This course is offered within the institutional international framework of the UNESCO Chair on Gender, Wellbeing, and a Culture of Peace at UW-Madison.  The UNESCO Chair is pursuing a line of work with the 4W UW-Madison STREETS Initiative (Social Transformations to End the Exploitation and Trafficking for Sex) on human and sex-trafficking as extreme violations of human rights. Through its transnational collaborative nature, the 4W UW UNESCO Chair is devoted to foster community engagement and applied research, as well as interdisciplinary and intersectoral dialogue with specific pragmatic aims to combat human and sex-trafficking.

Learning Objectives

We have overall Goals and Expectations for Study Abroad Participants, covering the personal, academic and professional aspects of study abroad. Additionally on this program, you can:

  • Define human trafficking in historical and geographical contexts, and gain an understanding of the scope and magnitude of human trafficking, both domestically and internationally
  • Contextualize key terminology associated with human trafficking
  • Use different trauma-informed virtual tools and techniques to identify different aspects of the trafficking process
  • Understand the construction of silence in the lives of victims and survivors
  • Through collective narratives based primarily on the visual arts (painting, collage, photography, etc.), help the staff of organizations, and also victims and survivors to find and use their previously silenced life experience.
  • Recognize the roles of various disciplines, organizations, and professionals working on anti-trafficking efforts
  • Understand sex trafficking from multiple perspectives including non-governmental organizations, governmental organizations, academics and researchers, civil society, victims and survivors 
  • Engage in a series of educational virtual workshops and activities with international human rights activists, survivors, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations
  • Understand and analyze the demand side of trafficking
  • Identify efforts undertaken in Spain and Morocco to assist trafficking victims, prosecute traffickers, prevent trafficking, and reduce the demand for commercial sex

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to providing quality study abroad and domestic study away programs for every UW-Madison student. We work strategically to identify, address, and remove barriers that may prevent participation and to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for students. Our staff actively engages with students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds and prioritizes the continuous development of our knowledge and cultural competence. We also recognize the importance of increasing access to study abroad for historically underrepresented student populations. We are committed to diversity and inclusion so that every student can engage with and understand their identity through a new lens and continue to develop and make progress on their personal, professional, and academic goals.

Sustainability

We recognize that the future of study abroad, domestic study away, and international internship programming requires a Commitment to Sustainability. We are devoted to examining, developing, and improving sustainability in all our endeavors, aligning with campus priorities and following through with UW-Madison's climate action and Resilience Commitment. Join our efforts and learn more about how to study abroad sustainably.

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Eligibility

  • Depending on the number of applicants, a short interview may be required with the instructor.

  • 2.0 cumulative GPA
  • Knowing a foreign language is not a requirement for this course. 

  • Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior
  • Open to UW-Madison degree-seeking students only
  • Good academic and disciplinary standing
  • At the time of application and the semester prior to participation, UW-Madison students must be currently enrolled. Transfer Students to UW-Madison need to be currently enrolled at their home institution

Advising Location

Program Structure

UW Signature

Subjects

Sex Trafficking, Human Trafficking, Public Health, Global Health

Classroom Language

English

Housing

Program Duration

Summer: Late May - Mid-June (3 weeks)

Application Deadline(s)

Future durations will be posted at a later date.

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Students receive three credits of Nutritional Sciences 421 for the completion of this program.

The program includes a field-training itinerary in Morocco and Spain to partially recreate one of the main routes used by mafias to bring women from Central and West Africa into Europe. Along the way, students will actively engage in a series of educational workshops and activities. Students will be exposed to intense on-the-spot learning experiences with international human rights activists, victims and survivors, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. 

The advocacy-training component of this program will focus on topics related to the mechanics of commercial sexual exploitation with attention to supply and demand issues, vulnerability factors, immigration legislation, and the overall impact on survivors’ rights, health, and their status in society. Students will learn about the physical and psychological health consequences as well as principles for promoting the human and health rights of trafficked women and girls. This program will give a deep perspective on the connections between global and local by focusing on the lives of trafficked persons, the work of traffickers, and the potential and limitations for action by policymakers, law enforcement, researchers, and human rights activists.

Spain: Collaborating with several anti-human trafficking organizations, students will meet women survivors of human trafficking who are in rehabilitation processes, or still part of the trafficking networks. The intention of these first meetings is to open spaces for discussion with victims/survivors in the destination country, and start analyzing the origin and transit experiences of human trafficking. The ultimate goal of these first meetings is to gather messages from the survivors and take them to their sisters who are still in transit destinations.

In Spain, we will understand the demand side by visiting some cities on the Mediterranean Coast and by collaborating with organizations in these cities that will share their experiences of working with victims/survivors in a destination.

Morocco: Students will be immersed in trauma informed tools and techniques—drama-therapy, play-therapy and creative theatre movement. The UW Team will collaborate with artists, musicians, human rights activists and also with migrant women, some of which are or have been victims of human trafficking. The workshops will use collective narratives based on body movement and dance to rhythmic music, guided imagery, drawing, story-work, drama and theatre to subtly uncover the “journey” life experience of human trafficking victims and survivors. Together with staff of the organizations in Morocco, the UW Team will share with the women the messages sent by their sisters in the destination country.

After our time in Morocco, the UW Team will be back in Spain to share their Moroccan experiences with organizations and survivors, and bring back the responses of women victims/survivors to complete the circle of communication and care.

Course Equivalents

Use the links below to see a list of courses that past students have taken on this program and the UW equivalents. Note: This list only includes pre-approved courses for your program and may not be an exhaustive list of courses, departments or equivalents. Courses may not be available the semester you are abroad. You will receive instructions on the course equivalent process after acceptance. View Course Equivalents

Program Leader

Program leader photo placeholder

Araceli Alonso

Learn more about  Dr. Alonso here.