The Legal Obligations of the United Kingdom to Identify Victims of Human Trafficking

Abstract

This article outlines the international obligations of the United Kingdom (UK) to identify victims of human trafficking to guarantee the rights of trafficked victims to have help and support. If victims are not positively identified, victims may be at risk of either being indistinguishable from other types of migrants, or misidentified as an offender and prosecuted instead of being treated as a victim of crime. Currently, there are difficulties associated with victims identifying themselves as victims of crime and authorities misidentifying victims as offenders. This UK case study explores how identification must continue to be facilitated by the UK through the provision of support and help via the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) to ensure the protection of victims in the longer term of aiding the recovery of victims after exploitation.

Keywords: Human trafficking, Modern slavery, Human Smuggling, Identification, Self-identification, Misidentification, Immigration, Coercion