Today sees the launch of a new online resource ATHUB.org.uk to help lawyers to get victims of trafficking the help they need. Produced by the award winning legal charity ATLEU, ATHUB aims to overcome the barriers that victims experience when trying to rebuild their lives after escaping their traffickers. This is the first online resource to bring all this information together in one place and it is badly needed.
New online resource to help lawyers working with victims of trafficking
Today sees the launch of a new online resource ATHUB.org.uk to help lawyers to get victims of trafficking the help they need. Produced by the award winning legal charity ATLEU, ATHUB aims to overcome the barriers that victims experience when trying to rebuild their lives after escaping their traffickers. This is the first online resource to bring all this information together in one place and it is badly needed.
The continuing clamp down on legal aid funding and the impact of cuts on local authority spending means that these victims often struggle to get the information and support they need. To help address this, ATHUB provides a range of information on victims’ rights, accessing benefits and medical support, the asylum process and claiming compensation from their traffickers.
For more information, please see: http://atleu.org.uk/news/2018/1/25/new-online-resource-to-help-lawyers-working-with-victims-of-trafficking
I gave evidence as an Expert Witness at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court earlier this week (22 January 2018) in the case of a Vietnamese national found in a Cannabis Factory. He was charged with being concerned in the cultivation of Class ‘B’ drugs but claimed a defence under Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides a statutory defence for slavery or trafficking victims who commit an offence in the following terms:
(1) A person is not guilty of an offence if—
(a) the person is aged 18 or over when the person does the act which constitutes the offence,
(b) the person does that act because the person is compelled to do it,
(c) the compulsion is attributable to slavery or to relevant exploitation, and
(d) a reasonable person in the same situation as the person and having the person’s relevant characteristics would have no realistic alternative to doing that act.
(2) A person may be compelled to do something by another person or by the person’s circumstances.
(3) Compulsion is attributable to slavery or to relevant exploitation only if—
(a) it is, or is part of, conduct which constitutes an offence under section 1 or conduct which constitutes relevant exploitation, or
(b) it is a direct consequence of a person being, or having been, a victim of slavery or a victim of relevant exploitation.
(4) A person is not guilty of an offence if—
(a) the person is under the age of 18 when the person does the act which constitutes the offence,
(b) the person does that act as a direct consequence of the person being, or having it is a direct consequence of a person being, or having been, a victim of slavery or a victim of relevant exploitation, and
(c) a reasonable person in the same situation as the person and having the person’s relevant characteristics would do that act.
(5) For the purposes of this section—
• ‘relevant characteristics’ means age, sex and any physical or mental illness or disability;
• ‘relevant exploitation’ is exploitation (within the meaning of section 3) that is attributable to the exploited person being, or having been, a victim of human trafficking.
There is little doubt in my mind that had the jury not had the benefit of hearing evidence of a specialist in Modern Slavery to enable them to understand the complex nature of this form of criminality and how people become victims, he may well have been either persuaded to plead guilty (knowledge of such matters within the Judiciary is not good) or he would have been found ‘Guilty’.
I was contacted by the Defence Barrister and provided a comprehensive Report for the Court within 72 hours. I was also able to advise the Defence team on the best approach in dealing with the evidence and provided further guidance on the provisions within the legislation in such circumstances.
The accused was acquitted but one wonders just how many persons in similar circumstances have suffered a miscarriage of justice; being advised to plead ‘Guilty’ or convicted due to this lack of adequate knowledge within the Criminal Justice System.
For further information on how I might assist you in a case that you might be dealing with please contact me via the website.
