Pro Bono | EMEA

Justice for victims of human trafficking

A cross-jurisdictional team undertook ground-breaking litigation acting for a client who had been trafficked and exploited in both France and the United Kingdom. Our London office assisted the client with their claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) in the UK in respect of the repeated assaults that they suffered whilst in the country. The client received an award from CICA, which was confined to compensation for only those incidents, and did not account for the severe psychological trauma experienced as a result of the exploitation.

However, as the majority of the abuse that the client suffered took place in France, our Paris office made an application to the French Compensation authority, CIVI (Commission d’Indemnisation des Victimes d’Infraction), tasked with the financial compensation of victims of crimes committed on French territory.

Victims are often trafficked within countries and across borders to be exploited and access to a compensation scheme for victims of human trafficking is a right enshrined in the European Union Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims. Litigation that spans Europe is therefore vitally important to ensure trafficking victims receive the crucial support they are entitled to and that they need to rebuild their lives.

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