Detention of Trafficked Persons in Shelters: A Legal and Policy Analysis
- Document number
- 1781
- Date
- 2008
- Title
- Detention of Trafficked Persons in Shelters: A Legal and Policy Analysis
- Author/publisher
- Anne T. Gallagher, Elaine Pearson
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Research/Study/Analysis,
- Summary
- In countries around the world it is common practice for victims of trafficking who have been “rescued” or who have escaped from situations of exploitation to be placed and detained in public or private shelters. In the most egregious situations, victims can be effectively imprisoned in such shelters for months, even years. This Study considers the international legal aspects of victim detention in shelters and weighs up the common justifications for such detention from a legal, policy and practical perspective. It is based on desk research of shelter practices in a number of countries and more direct exposure to shelters through field based research undertaken principally in South East Asia. The Study concludes that routine detention of victims or suspected victims of trafficking in public or private shelters violates a number of fundamental principles of international law and is therefore to be considered, prima facie, unlawful. The second part of the Study considers the practical and strategic implications of the various policy arguments that are advanced in favour of victim detention. Can victims consent to their own detention? Is it indeed true that detention provides the only – or even the best chance of delivering much needed support and protection to victims of trafficking? Is it reasonable to cite the overwhelming reliance on victim testimony in human trafficking cases as grounds for ensuring these witnesses be prevented from disappearing? Should the situation be different for victims who lack legal migration status? These questions are framed and responded to with particular reference to documented shelter practices in two countries of South East Asia: Cambodia and Thailand.
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