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Abstract
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Response to ATR Debate Proposition: 'Prosecuting trafficking deflects attention from much more important responses and is anyway a waste of time and money'
Two hundred and forty months. Life without parole. Often, prosecutors in the United States measure their success in criminal trafficking cases by the long sentences meted out to the perpetrators. But prison sentences alone are not the appropriate measure.
The Trafficking Protocol declares, 'Each State Party shall ensure that its domestic legal system contains measures that offer victims of trafficking in persons the possibility of obtaining compensation for damage suffered.'1 Criminal prosecution, if done well, can serve this purpose. Indeed, U.S. law requires restitution for trafficking victims in federal prosecutions.2 In cases that include restitution for trafficking victims, success is not counted only in months of imprisonment, but also in dollars awarded: USD 3,892,055 in restitution to four minor victims of sex trafficking;3 USD 916,635.16 for one worker held for 19 years in domestic servitude;4 USD 51,844.00 for one victim forced to labour in a restaurant.5
Advocates for trafficking victims are beginning to fight for these restitution orders for their clients. Their advocacy is beginning to show dividends. And thanks to the University of Michigan Trafficking Law Clinic, restitution awards for trafficking victims are not subject to taxation. The Clinic succeeded in convincing the US authorities to declare that criminal restitution for trafficking victims should not be subject to federal income tax.6
Why does this matter? Prosecutions can provide a mechanism for trafficking victims to rebuild their lives. Financial compensation obtained through criminal prosecution can catapult a trafficking victim forward on the path to survival. It can preempt the need for civil litigation. It can restore dignity to a trafficking victim unable to support his or her family. It can provide the financial wherewithal for a trafficking victim to thrive, not just survive. Funds obtained through restitution orders may be used to go to college, to buy a home, to purchase a car, to support family members at home. Prosecution with restitution takes a step beyond punishment and retribution...
Language: en |