Human slavery is not a new phenomenon, already appearing in the old testament and continuing over all epochs and centuries in various countries all over the world. However, most people are not aware that it still continues in our days. More exactly, the global community has only recently become aware of its significance. The phenomenon of "modern-day slavery" is termed "human trafficking".
Currently, human trafficking is listed as one of the three most profitable organized crimes, along with the trafficking of weapons and drugs. The problem is a global issue, given the fact that there is no country - developed or developing - that is immune to human trafficking. According to the report of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2012, nearly 21 million people worldwide are exploited in forced labor, including commercial sexual exploitation.

The fundamental idea of the New Haven School of Jurisprudence is to address this growing problem and its effects on public health in terms of prevention and pro- secution of perpetrators as well as in the protection, healing, and reintegration of victims. Furthermore, the school recommends to investigate all the facts of the problem, including the social conflict it represents, before developing a tailor-made solution.

This booklet is the result of the Spring School on Public Health, Human Trafficking and the
Law funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as an ERASMUS INTENSIVE PROGRAMME, held in march 2013 in Siena, Italy. The aim of the intensive program was to present and
analyze the problem of human trafficking alongside with the perspective of the New Haven School in order to recommend concrete solutions. For this purpose, the trafficking of humans has been explored in relation to public health and the European law, in close cooperation between the participating students and experts in medicine, social sciences and law.

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