Media and trafficking in human beings
The DIIS report From Bodies to Borders Human trafficking, migration, and gender in the Danish media 2010-2019 By Sine Plambech and Maria Brus Pedersen was presented to the Council of Europe, the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) and the Council of the Baltic Sea States (Østersørådet)
The Council of Europe requested a presentation of the results of the DIIS report at their recent visit to Denmark as part of the process to assess the implementation by Denmark of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB).
The report findings and recommendations was further implemented in the Council of the Baltic Sea States new guidelines on “Media and Trafficking in Human beings”. The DIIS report was presented in Warsaw at the launch at the Polish Ministry of interior.
The DIIS guidelines and the report from CBSS adress Human trafficking as a complex social problem that requires thoughtful, informed and, above all, compassionate journalism to provide context, give voice to the victims and assist in the search for solutions. Media and journalism should play a positive role in persuading the world that trafficking can be diminished if not eradicated. Political leaders and the public at large need to read, hear and see the full story. It is an essential first step in generating the political will needed to overcome the fundamental causes of human trafficking.
The advice and suggestions set out to inform policy makers and journalists to to consider the legal and human rights issues involved; the treatment of the victims, their privacy and welfare; and how to tell the story with humanity and style while helping audiences to understand better what must be done.
The DIIS report contributed to the CBSS project “Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings and Organised Crime – Phase 2” funded by the European Commission and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in cooperation with Expertise France and FIIAPP.
The report is written by DIIS Senior Researcher Sine Plambech and journalist Maria Brus Pedersen. The aim is not only to provide insights into the framing of human trafficking in the Danish media, but furthermore to serve as a learning tool for journalists covering human trafficking. An analysis of this type has not been undertaken in Denmark before and thus provides the reader with new insights into the evolution of how the Danish media framed human trafficking from 2010 to 2019.
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