Lunchtime Seminar Series:

Human Trafficking and the Criminalization of Buying Sex: Understanding Vulnerability to Trafficking in Europe and Abroadby

Prof. Davina Durgana, Associate Professor at SIT Graduate Institute in Washington, DC and Senior Technical Advisor at Seraphim GLOBAL

Dr. Davina Durgana is a human trafficking expert who has won national and local awards for her work spanning the past eight years in bridging the gaps between academics and practitioners in the anti-trafficking field. She is particularly known for her work applying analytical models to understanding vulnerability, risk, and prevalence on the issue of human trafficking domestically and internationally. She is Associate Professor for SIT Graduate Institute in Washington, D.C. and Senior Technical Advisor for Human Trafficking at SeraphimGLOBAL, where she directs the SeraphimGLOBAL Research Collaborative that supports the coordination of unconventional actors to produce innovative research in the anti-human trafficking field. She received her Masters degrees in Paris, France while studying human trafficking at the Sorbonne and the American University of Paris, and her Bachelor’s degree at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. After creating the first human trafficking risk assessment and prevalence estimation model for minors in the United States, Dr. Durgana applies the same theoretical and statistical modeling insights to the issues of human trafficking in European sexual tourism and industries in this lecture. She deconstructs vulnerability to human trafficking by appealing to the UN human security theoretical framework.

She also provides context on how to best inform potential interventions for human trafficking prevention in Ireland and abroad from multiple perspectives. Survivor Advocates, Academics, Community Members, and others will find this lecture to be a unique perspective into the state of human trafficking in Europe and abroad, with an engaging open discussion on the many potential ways to combat this issue moving forward.

All are welcome!

For more information please contact T.ANANTHAVINAYAGAN1@nuigalway.ie