Category: VANGUARD

On June 10, the 1st Iberian Congress / XV Spanish Congress of Criminology (SIEC) hosted the presentation of the research paper “Repositioning the Role of ICTs and AI in Combating Human Trafficking.”

The study was conducted by Karen Latricia Hough and Noelia Gómez Bosque (Euro-Arab Foundation), Theodora Tsikrika, Despoina Chatzakou, and Theoni Spathi (CERTH), alongside Tatiana Duarte Nicolau (University of Granada), in collaboration with KU Leuven. Drawing from the findings of the Horizon Europe VANGUARD project, the research analyzed how anti-trafficking efforts have struggled to respond to the growing digital dimensions of human trafficking, while perpetrators increasingly weaponize AI and digital technologies to facilitate recruitment, coercion, and exploitation.

Based on more than 220 sources and 67 in-depth interviews with survivors, perpetrators, law enforcement, border guards, policymakers, NGOs, and experts, the study identified major vulnerabilities in current anti-trafficking responses. These include:

• Fragmentation of data systems.
• An over-reliance on reactive policing approaches.
• Limited involvement of survivors.
• Risks posed by algorithmic bias and the misuse of surveillance technologies.

The presentation also highlighted how online trafficking and poly-exploitation (which encompasses sexual exploitation, forced criminality, and labor exploitation) continue to evolve faster than many institutional responses. To address this, the VANGUARD project introduced AI-driven tools, co-developed with key stakeholders, to help anticipate and disrupt digital trafficking pathways.

However, the researchers emphasized that technology alone cannot solve systemic challenges. The presentation called for stronger human rights protections, enhanced training for front-line staff, refined regulatory frameworks, and more inclusive, survivor-centered innovation processes.

The paper concluded by advocating for a paradigm shift: moving from fragmented and reactive anti-trafficking strategies toward coordinated, evidence-based, and ethically grounded approaches that are better adapted to the realities of the digital age.

The 1st Iberian Congress / XV Spanish Congress of Criminology, organized under the slogan “Shared Horizons in Criminology” between June 10 and 12, is promoted by the Spanish Society for Criminological Research (SEIC) alongside its Portuguese counterparts. This scientific gathering serves as a strategic forum to debate the most pressing methodological, theoretical, and practical challenges within the discipline.

On 22 May 2026, the Euro-Arab Foundation researcher, Karen Latricia Hough, alongside Despoina Chatzakou and Theoni Spath from CERTH, Roberto Acquaviva (ENG) and Sara Diez and Jiang Zhicheng (Bull), delivered an online presentation of the Horizon Europe VANGUARD Project to the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Guardia Civil at Madrid Headquarters.

The session showcased the project’s innovative approach to combating trafficking in human beings through the integration of advanced AI-supported technologies, operational intelligence tools, and multidisciplinary social-scientific research. The presentation highlighted how the VANGUARD project is developing ethical, human-centred, and technologically advanced solutions to strengthen the prevention, detection, and investigation of trafficking networks across Europe.

Key social-scientific findings emerging from the project’s ongoing research activities were presented, including insights into evolving trafficking patterns, victim protection considerations, and policy recommendations aimed at enhancing operational responses and cross-border cooperation among law-enforcement and security stakeholders. Researchers also conducted an online demonstration of the VANGUARD ToolSuite, presenting capabilities designed to support law-enforcement authorities in identifying trafficking activities, analysing complex criminal networks, and improving intelligence-led investigations.

Funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme, the VANGUARD Project brings together leading research organisations, technology providers, and security stakeholders to advance innovative, ethical, and collaborative solutions against trafficking in human beings.

The Euro-Arab Foundation is part of the consortium of this project, which began in 2023 and is scheduled to conclude in December of this year, 2026.

On 4 March, researcher Karen Hough from the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies delivered a specialised training session for police and border control officers in Romania, focusing on the growing risks of human trafficking in digital environments. This initiative was directly informed by the research results of the VANGUARD project, which analyses how exploitation is increasingly shifting into online spaces.

The training aimed to equip frontline professionals with advanced knowledge and practical tools to identify, prevent, and disrupt trafficking activities at their earliest stages. Drawing on evidence generated by VANGUARD, the session addressed key risk factors, vulnerability indicators, and emerging strategies used by criminal networks, such as online grooming, misuse of digital platforms, and concealment techniques. It also emphasised the practical application of this knowledge, translating project findings into operational solutions to strengthen detection capabilities, improve victim protection, and enhance cross-border cooperation between agencies.

The Fundación Euroárabe de Altos Estudios is actively involved in the European Horizon Europe VANGUARD project, an international initiative aimed at strengthening the fight against human trafficking through advanced technological solutions, specialised training, and collaboration between key stakeholders. The project brings together a broad consortium of European research institutions, law enforcement agencies, and civil society organisations, and focuses on improving the detection, investigation, and prevention of trafficking, particularly in its online and cross-border dimensions, through the development of artificial intelligence and data analysis tools.

On March 4, Karen Hough, a researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, delivered specialised training for police and border control officers in Romania, focusing on the growing risks of human trafficking in digital environments. This initiative was directly supported by the research findings of the VANGUARD project, which examines how exploitation is increasingly shifting toward online spaces.

The training aimed to equip frontline professionals with advanced knowledge and practical tools to identify, prevent, and dismantle trafficking activities in their early stages. Based on evidence generated by VANGUARD, the session addressed risk factors, indicators of vulnerability, and new strategies used by criminal networks, such as digital grooming, the misuse of online platforms, and concealment techniques. In addition, the session emphasised the practical application of this knowledge, transforming the project’s findings into operational solutions that strengthen detection capabilities, improve victim protection, and promote cross-border cooperation among agencies.

The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies is actively involved in the European Horizon Europe VANGUARD project, an international initiative aimed at strengthening the fight against human trafficking through advanced technological solutions, specialised training, and cooperation among key stakeholders. The project brings together a broad consortium of European research institutions, law enforcement agencies, and social organizations, and focuses on improving the detection, investigation, and prevention of trafficking (particularly in its online and cross-border dimensions) through the development of tools based on artificial intelligence and data analysis.

The conference, held this Thursday at the Faculty of Law with more than forty people from different parts of Europe, has been dedicated to reviewing the work carried out in the first year of implementation of the VANGUARD project, as well as defining and organising the steps to be taken in the coming months.

According to Javier Ruipérez Canales, director of the Projects Department of the Euro-Arab Foundation, ‘the balance that can be drawn from this meeting is highly positive, as a large number of activities have been carried out in relation to the research developed around the theme of the project, trafficking and smuggling of human beings, thus fulfilling the objectives set for this first year of the project’s life’.

About VANGUARD

VANGUARD, a project funded by the HORIZON Europe programme, focuses on strengthening the fight against human trafficking through advanced technological solutions, promoting understanding and capacity building to interrupt the trafficking chain at an early stage, fighting the culture of impunity.

Among the most important objectives of VANGUARD is the development of a technological tool that integrates artificial intelligence to facilitate the work of law enforcement agencies in different European countries, including Spain, in this sense, the project is currently in the discussion phase.