Thi Hoang

Thi is an anti-human trafficking and technology expert. She was the Managing Editor of the LSE Press's Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED) and Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), where she also coordinated and managed the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime (IASOC)'s activities such as IASOC annual prizes, events, monthly bulletins, and the 24-hour conference on organized crime (OC24).

Thi worked on and co-coordinates the Responsible & Ethical Business Coalition against Trafficking (RESPECT) Initiative, which serves as a platform for thought leaders, practitioners, and policy makers and to mobilise the business community as a strategic partner to tackle human trafficking. Her other projects included the Modern Slavery Map, an interactive map for business of anti-human trafficking organisations, and the Tech Against Trafficking initiative, a coalition of technology companies and stakeholders aiming to help eradicate human trafficking using technology, where Thi was its Research Lead from 2018 until 2023.

Thi also worked on and co-ordinated the Drugs & Development Hub (DDH) initiative, jointly launched by the London School of Economics (LSE), the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD), and GI-TOC to create new perspectives for integrated drug policies.

She is currently a member of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)'s Standing Group on Organised Crime (SGOC), and a member of the European Society of Criminology. Thi is supporting the Regional Academy on the United Nations (RAUN) as a Programme Coordinator and the Pacific Links Foundation as a Regional Advisor.

Publications

Hoang, T. and Wagner, L. (2023). 'A growing threat? Online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cape Verde', Organised Crime: West African Response to Trafficking (OCWAR-T) Research Report 7, ECOWAS Commission.
Hoang, T. and Wagner, L. (2023). 'Online child sexual exploitation and abuse in West Africa', Organised Crime: West African Response to Trafficking (OCWAR-T) Policy Brief 7, ECOWAS Commission.
Hoang, T. (2023). 'Human trafficking in Afghanistan - What hope for change?' (abridged essay).
Hoang, T. (2022). ‘Questions of intent: Where mixed migration and human trafficking overlap’
(abridged essay).
Hoang, T. (2022). 'Questions of intent: Where mixed migration and human trafficking overlap'. In: Horwood, C., Frouws, B. and Forin, R. (Eds.). (2022). Mixed Migration Review 2022. 'Alternative ideas and solutions for contemporary mixed migration challenges'. Highlights. Interviews. Essays. Data. Geneva: Mixed Migration Centre.
Hoang, T. (2022). 'Human trafficking in Afghanistan - What hope for change?'. In: Cox, M. (Ed.). (2022). 'Afghanistan: Long War, Forgotten Peace'. London: LSE Press.
Zabyelina, Y., and Hoang, T. (2022). 'Trafficking in persons and the hotel industry'. In: Zabyelina, Y., and Thachuk, K.L. (Eds.). (2022). 'The private sector and organized crime: Criminal entrepreneurship, illicit profits, and private sector security governance (1st ed.)'. Routledge.
Hoang, T. (2022). 'Human trafficking in the Afghan context: Caught between a rock and a hard place?', SOC ACE Research Paper No. 10. Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham.
Hoang, T. (2022). ‘Human trafficking in the Afghan context: Caught between a rock and a hard place?‘, SOC ACE Briefing Note No. 16. Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham.
Chhun, V., Bird, L. and Hoang, T. (2022). 'Cambodia’s trafficked brides: The escalating phenomenon of forced marriage in China', Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Wagner, L., Amerhauser, K., Scaturro, R. and Hoang, T. (2021). 'Exploited in plain sight: An assessment of commercial sexual exploitation of children and child protection responses in the Western Balkans', Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Hoang, T. (2021). ‘Combating human trafficking: Trends and gaps in the corporate partnership landscape’, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Hoang, T. (2020). ‘The dual law of technology in trafficking‘, Tech Against Trafficking.
Hoang, T. (2020). ‘The pandemic’s impact on human trafficking‘, Delta 8.7.
Bird, L., Hoang, T., Stanyard, J., Walker, S. and Haysom, S. (2020). ‘Transformative technologies: How digital is changing the landscape of organized crime’, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Hoang, T. (2020). ‘Mapping the landscape of technology tools used in the OSCE area and beyond to counter human trafficking – Research findings’. In ‘Leveraging innovation to fight trafficking in human beings: A comprehensive analysis of technology tools’. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Wagner, L. and Hoang, T. (2020). ‘Aggravating circumstances: How coronavirus impacts human trafficking’ (policy brief), Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
‘COVID and cybercrime’ (podcast). (2020). In ‘The impact: Coronavirus and Organized Crime’, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Hoang, T. (2019). Tech Against Trafficking Contribution to the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery’s annual thematic report, ‘Current and emerging forms of slavery’. United Nations General Assembly.
Darnton, H. & Hoang, T. (2019). ‘Accelerating the use of tech to combat human trafficking‘, Thomson Reuters Foundation News.
Hoang, T. (2019). ‘When the peacekeepers are part of the problem‘, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Hoang, T. & Markos, A. (2018). 'Private Sector and Civil Society Partnerships against Corruption in Southeastern Europe', Regional Academy on the United Nations.

Contributions

OSCE (2022). 'Policy responses to technology-facilitated trafficking in human beings: Analysis of current approaches and considerations for moving forward'.
Fundación Pasos Libres (2021). 'DataJam 2021 Participant Handbook'.
OSCE (2021). 'Combating technology-facilitated trafficking in human beings in Central Asia and across the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation'.

Invited talks & trainings delivered

'Online child sexual exploitation and abuse in West Africa – Understanding an under-reported phenomenon from a policy, legal, and social perspective'. In panel 'Technology facilitated trafficking and other forms of online exploitation – Analysis from a legal, social and governance perspective', organized by the HEROES project's consortium including ICMPD, UCM, and VUB at the 20th IMISCOE Annual Conference, Warsaw, Poland and online, 3-6 July 2023.
'Victim-centred approach, recent stats and analysis on technology and trafficking in persons'. Regional Expert Group Meeting on Addressing Cyber and Technology facilitated Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Exploitation, including Children in South Eastern Europe, organized by UNODC in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Podgorica, Montenegro, and online, 21-22 June 2023.
'Tech, human trafficking, and demand'. Reducing demand and preventing human trafficking, organized by ERA, Krakow, 5-6 June 2023.
'Human trafficking in the Afghan context'. UNODC side event at the 66th CND session, 'The future of illicit economies in Afghanistan', organized by UNODC and GITOC, online and in Vienna, 16 March 2023.
'Trafficking in persons for forced criminality and labour exploitation in SEZs in Southeast Asia'. Training on digital evidence and online investigation in handling trafficking in persons cases, organized by ASEAN-Act and Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security, online and in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Vietnam, 14-16 March 2023.
'Cyber-enabled crime, vulnerable groups, and COVID-19: How digital technologies and COVID-19 are changing the landscape of human trafficking'. ASEAN-Australia Cyber capacity building workshop, organized by the Asia Foundation, the Australian Government and Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore, 2 March 2023.
'Forced labour in global supply chains'. Interlaw workshop, online and in Bangkok, 23 February 2023.
Governing opportunities and risks of digital currencies, organized by Swiss Re Institute - Center for Global Dialogue, IRGC, EPFL, Zürich, 25-26 October 2022.
'State of the field: Technology solutions to fight trafficking'. Tech Against Trafficking Summit, Seattle, 27–28 September 2022.
'Tech, human trafficking, and demand'. Reducing demand and preventing human trafficking, organized by ERA, Lisbon, 8-9 September 2022.
'Cambodia's trafficked brides: The escalating phenomenon of forced marriage in China'. Asian region anti-trafficking conference, organized by Chab Dai Coalition, The Freedom Story, Dark Bali, Red Oak Hope, & The Rotary Club, online 19-20 July.
'An assessment of commercial sexual exploitation of children and child protection responses in the Western Balkans'. Regional Expert Group Meeting on Addressing Cyber and Technology facilitated Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Exploitation, including Children in South Eastern Europe, organized by UNODC in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Tivat, Montenegro, 5-6 July 2022.
'Human trafficking in conflict contexts - Case studies: Afghanistan and Ukraine'. Alliance Expert Co-ordination Team Meeting, organized by the OSCE, Vienna and online, 5 July 2022.
'Bride trafficking of Cambodian and Vietnamese women and girls into China'. 4th General Conference on Organised Crime: Crossing territorial and disciplinary (b)orders - Empirical, analytical an policy perspectives on organised crime, organized by ECPR Standing Group on Organised Crime, Pisa and online 4-6 July.

'Tech Against Trafficking - Fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships'. Dialogue on Tech and Migration, organized by the German Marshall Fund, online June 2022.
'Human trafficking and migrant smuggling: Trends & patterns of migration and exploitation from Vietnam'. European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), Berlin, Germany, May 2022.
'Forced labour in (in)formal sectors: Formality-informality overlaps in the supply chains'. DataJam Pasos Libres 2021, online September 2021.
'Conducting transnational organized crime research and publishing with academic journals'. Vietnam National University (VNU) Faculty of Law's Training Workshop 'Developing international research and publication skills in the field of criminal justice and criminology', online August 2021.
'Harnessing the power of technology and multi-stakeholder partnerships to combat human trafficking'. Khartoum Process Webinar Series 'Trafficking in Human Beings: The 4Ps Revisited'. Module 4: Fostering Partnership to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, online June 2021.
'The climate change - human trafficking nexus'. New Issues in Security Course, organized by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), online May 2021.
Pacific Links Foundation's Capacity Building for Responders (CaRes) Online Trainings in 2021 and 2022, with multiple stakeholder groups, including EMPACT, Justice and Care, European customs and border guard agencies, etc.
‘Human trafficking in a pandemic context - Utilisation of tech tools as a mitigation strategy?’. Together Against Human Trafficking: Human Trafficking in Europe and Its Challenges for Romania 2020 Conference, organized by MEP Ramona Strugariu (Renew Europe), in partnership with the Romanian Network of NGOs against Trafficking in Persons, the European Center for Legal Education and Research, and Freedom House Romania, online December 2020.
Launch of ‘Leveraging innovation to fight trafficking in human beings: A comprehensive analysis of technology tools’, a joint publication by the OSCE and Tech Against Trafficking, June 2020.
‘Digital technologies and human trafficking’. TAIEX-Partnership Instrument Workshop on Next Steps in Tackling Trafficking in Human Beings, organized by the European Commission and Hong Kong Security Bureau, Hong Kong, December 2019.
‘Digital technologies and transnational organized crime – How tech has changed the ‘traditional’ organized crime landscape’. European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference 2019, organized by the University of Oulu, Finland, November 2019.
‘Private sector and human trafficking – From common goals to collaborative actions’. Winter School on Transnational Organized Crime, organized by the European Consortium of Political Research and UNODC, Vienna, January 2019.

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