Compensation for victim of modern slavery doubled to £35,000
A compensation award for a case our UK team worked on for five years has been increased to £35,000; more than double the original award.
The authorities recognised that the survivor’s financial losses and physical abuse were much worse than originally accounted for.
Although this money cannot undo his years in slavery, it means a better future for his children, which is all he dreamed of when he first came to the UK. We are proud of our Advocacy team for their role in this victory – working with his lawyers and faithfully supporting him to ensure his needs were met while the case was fought.
Helping victims seek financial justice is an important part of ensuring perpetrator accountability and deterrence, which is why we support survivors in pursuing compensation and help them through the civil and criminal justice processes as they seek to have those who exploited them prosecuted and convicted. One of Hope for Justice’s biggest-ever successes came in spring 2017, when 18 survivors we were supporting received compensation via criminal proceedings following the conviction of their traffickers.
Last year, a criminal injuries compensation claim by a victim of slavery that was initially rejected by the authorities was later granted at appeal after Hope for Justice UK engaged specialist lawyers. We provided evidence for the appeal, and support to the victim at the tribunal. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, announced that it was to change its guidance as a result of that case.
Hope for Justice contributed to a research paper by Focus on Labour Exploitation called ‘Access to compensation for victims of human trafficking‘, which outlined a series of legal and practical barriers that often stand in the way of victims getting the compensation they need and deserve.
