Speakers on Wednesday emphasised the importance of fostering a victim-centred, trauma-informed, and gender-responsive approach among law students by strengthening their foundational knowledge and practical understanding.
They said this approach aimed to reinforce Bangladesh's legal framework against human trafficking while contributing to greater access to justice and the rule of law.
In addition to legal knowledge, the speakers highlighted the practical challenges frequently encountered throughout the justice process, including investigation, evidence collection, prosecution, and institutional coordination.
They also drew attention to emerging trends, such as digital exploitation, that were reshaping the nature of human trafficking.
The issues were raised at the seminar titled "Educating for justice: empowering law graduates to fight human trafficking" and held at the AK Khan Auditorium, Faculty of Law, the University of Chittagong.
The event brought together senior academics, government officials, and legal practitioners to discuss the gaps in legal education and practical challenges in implementing anti-trafficking laws, said a press release.
The seminar was jointly organised by the University of Chittagong (CU) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
It also featured student engagement through a quiz competition, prize distribution, and a handover of reference books from the IOM to the CU Department of Law.
The programme was part of the IOM's approach to actively engage the youth and academics in its programming to combat human trafficking, acknowledging the critical role they could play and providing them with a platform to do so, such as the recently concluded national level university debate tournament titled "Safeguarding Lives - Human Trafficking Prevention".
The event concluded with the opening of a book corner with IT equipment in the Law Seminar Hall, donated by the IOM with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
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