Priscilla Offenhauer
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 65
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"This study examines protection mechanisms for victims of human trafficking as these mechanisms have developed in five countries. Victim protection covers legal recognition of the victim as such and support and assistance to trafficked persons. The first three countries examined ... are Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy. These three countries were selected on the basis of having established laws and highly developed systems for protecting trafficking victims. Along with the United States, the three are generally regarded as being in the forefront of victim protection. The fourth country examined, the Commonwealth of Australia, serves as an example of an advanced country that is a latecomer to the task of developing suitable laws and protection mechanism, but that is striving now to bring its laws and policies into harmony with international "best practice." Canada provides a case of a country that was in the forefront of the original international push to address trafficking, but that itself has proven uneven in the development of protection mechanisms. This study considers each country's criminal and immigration legislation pertinent to human trafficking, institutional arrangements for implementing the countries' policies, and specific kinds of assistance and support offered to victims."--Preface.