From Awareness to Action: The Impact of a Human Rights Education-Focused MOOC on Participant Perceptions of Human Trafficking

Abstract Human trafficking remains a pressing human rights issue of our time. Given the complexity of human trafficking, training, education, and awareness efforts are essential to inform the public, especially to counter sensationalized stereotypes, misconceptions, and misinformation. This paper focuses on a massive open online course (MOOC) on human trafficking awareness, developed and taught by the two co-authors in July 2024, with 560 participants. This project examines how the MOOC, centered on the principles of human rights education (HRE) and feminist pedagogy, shaped participants’ perceptions and understanding of human trafficking, as well as its impact on their commitment to raising awareness and fostering change in their local communities, can deepen critical awareness of social issues and inspire advocacy. Our findings contribute to the broader research on MOOCs’ effectiveness in HRE while identifying evidence-based practices for implementing MOOCs to address pressing global challenges. The research also offers empirical insights into how these approaches can engage diverse learners and inform future course designs.