By: Evelyn McCoy, Colleen Owens, Lilly Yu, Hanna Love, and Jeanette Hussemann. Published by: Urban Institute. Published in: March 2018

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“System actors, including criminal justice stakeholders and social and legal services providers, face challenges in understanding, identifying, and responding to human trafficking cases and survivors’ needs. At the same time, survivors of human trafficking often experience misconceptions regarding their victimization, stigma due to perceived involvement with illegal behavior, xenophobia, and criminalization. To date, few studies have documented these challenges for both survivors and system actors, as well as how survivors and system actors conceptualize “justice.” This brief is intended for practitioners, including social and legal service providers, law enforcement officials and leadership, prosecutors, judges, and advocates to learn about the study’s major findings and how they can inform their daily work with survivors. In addition to findings, this brief includes recommendations made by survivors and stakeholders to improve survivors’ experience with service provision and the criminal justice system at several decision points, including arrest, investigation, and prosecution.” (abstract)

Categories: Domestic Violence, Family, Family, Human Trafficking, Legal Aid Practitioners, National, Victims of Crime