Post by: Damie Omole
This semester, I have the privilege to work with Justice Ventures International. Justice Ventures International is an organization that partners with local organizations and global stakeholders to eradicate human trafficking and other extreme injustice by securing justice for individuals, empowering local partners, and improving justice systems.
Last weekend, as I watched a movie on Netflix, I was again reminded about the importance of the work of Justice Ventures International, especially in regard to victim compensation. The movie reminded of the gruesome effects of human trafficking not just on the victim, but on the mother, who watched her little child slip away from her hands and the father who could not protect his girls from being sold into sex trafficking.
The fight against human trafficking not only centers on prevention, protection, and prosecution. It also includes restoration by making sure society and the government does what is necessary to help survivors of human trafficking reintegrate into their community. Through this project, I have learned about; the concept of compensation and its value in human trafficking cases; the legal basis for compensation; and the different procedures of claiming compensation.
While compensation to a survivor of human trafficking will not necessarily remove the traumatic effects of human trafficking, it helps improve the chances of psychological recovery and reintegration into society. It also offers economic empowerment and protection from being re-trafficked. Compensation serves as a protection, prevention, prosecution, and restoration mechanism. By providing compensation, survivors are provided economic resources that will help connect them to family and society thereby helping prevent and protect against re-trafficking. Compensation likewise helps encourage prosecution by requiring the criminal and the government to release funds to the survivor.
More work needs to be done concerning compensation schemes for survivors of human trafficking. There needs to be simple procedures that are easily accessible that will encourage more survivors to take advantage of compensation schemes. A tedious process makes it difficult for survivors to obtain funds and makes it hard for them to trust the justice system.
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.