Criminal court proceedings

Trafficked persons can receive compensation directly from the offender (trafficker) through legal proceedings. In many countries, a civil claim for damages can also be filed against the offender and appended to the criminal case.

A criminal court procedure is mostly quicker than civil proceedings and the victim will receive free legal aid during the criminal court procedure.

However current data shows that criminal compensation is not available to most trafficked persons, as very few trafficking cases are actually prosecuted and result in a succesfull conviction, as the crime of human trafficking is difficult to prove.

Also even where a trafficker is convicted and is ordered to pay compensation to the victim, there might be no assets to claim. He or she may have spent the money, transferred it out of the jurisdiction, or deposited it in a bank account under a false name, making it very difficult to trace.