Post by: Kim Kham
My name is Kim Kham and I am a 3L student clerking for the Center for Global Justice at Regent University School of Law. This is my second semester working on a project with Justice Ventures International (JVI), an organization that works with NGOs in India to provide freedom, justice, and restoration to victims of sex trafficking, bonded labor, and other human rights abuses.
This semester we are working on a project on India’s Victim Compensation Schemes for bonded labor and sex trafficking victims that exist in the states of Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. A critical component of the rehabilitation process for trafficking survivors is obtaining the monetary compensation mandated under various government statutes. Section 357A of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code requires State Governments, in coordination with the Central Government, to prepare a scheme (or plan) for providing funds to victims and dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of a crime. Nearly all states have set up Victim Compensation Schemes to provide for adequate compensation, but in practice it has proven difficult to secure compensation for human trafficking victims. The ineffective implementation of victim compensation schemes is largely due to the states’ failure to outline a pragmatic scheme, the disparity in the quantum of compensation awarded for different crimes, and the ambiguity in terms of the grounds for compensation and procedure for disbursement.
Through this project, as a law clerk for the Center, I have the opportunity to help “do justly and love mercy.” There are many times when I question whether my contribution to end human rights abuses is doing anything significant but that’s not necessarily what I was called to do because what is significant in the eyes of God may not necessarily be what’s significant in the eyes of man. If I can help make a difference in even one person’s life through this work, then it’s all worth it because everyone is valuable in the eyes of God.
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.