Double whammy for victims

– Most human trafficking victims in the US are not getting any compensation from their convicted captors, and the number of those awarded payment is shrinking, experts said yesterday.

Although trafficking victims are entitled by law to compensation, judges ordered perpetrators to pay in only 27% of human trafficking cases brought before US federal courts between 2013 and 2016, a study found. During the previous threeyear period, payment was ordered in 36% of the cases, according to the report by anti-slavery group Human Trafficking Legal Centre (HTLC).

“This is disastrous for victims, who desperately need restitution funds to rebuild their lives,” said the report’s editor, Martina Vandenberg, of HTLC.

About 25 million people are trapped

New York

in forced labour worldwide, in factories, farms and fishing boats and as domestic or sex workers, the UN said. US anti-trafficking legislation requires courts to order convicted traffickers to pay their victims the gross amount they earned from them, or at the least, the minimum wage plus overtime for their forced servitude. Of those receiving payment, people trafficked for sex get far less than other victims at an average of $48 000 (R677 618) against the $505 000 for forced labour.

“Congress has mandated that victims receive restitution. But courts still leave trafficking victims empty-handed,” said the report’s main author, Alexandra Levy. To fix the problem, the study’s authors suggested more training on trafficking cases for prosecutors and judges and free legal assistance for defendants. – Reuters