A/HRC/36/43 complaints concerning contemporary forms of slavery can be reclassified under other “lesser” and unrelated charges or informal settlements arranged. In some instances, victims are pressured from different actors, including the police and judicial officials, in order to reach an agreement to end the prosecution. 31 4. Lack of immediate and long-term assistance 35. The absence of effective programmes and policies to provide socioeconomic support to victims of contemporary forms of slavery emerging from a situation of slavery make them vulnerable to relapsing into exploitation owing to the destitution that victims often face. Persons subjected to contemporary forms of slavery need to be able to have access to immediate and long-term assistance that enables them to restart their lives as independently as possible. Delays in the provision of assistance, complex procedures to gain access to those services, along with insufficient government funding to the assistance and recovery process and the contingency of assistance to victims on cooperation with the justice system, are some of the barriers that prevent victims from accessing immediate and long-term assistance.32 Immediately after escaping from the situation of exploitation, the victim must be provided with basic assistance, such as: housing in safe houses or shelters until the cases are closed; medical support, including basic health check-ups; mental health support; psychosocial counselling; financial aid; travel and maintenance expenses for victims and witnesses during investigation and trial; and travel and daily allowances. Once the shortterm needs of the victim are met, other services aimed at ensuring long-term recovery must be provided, such as life-skills training; assistance with job seeking; reintegration assistance; vocational training; language classes; education; and social activities. 5. Lack of information and legal assistance 36. Persons subjected to contemporary forms of slavery are often not aware of the possibilities for gaining access to justice and remedy and therefore do not report the exploitation they have suffered to the authorities. However, even when victims have been officially identified, they are sometimes not provided with clear and consistent information about their rights, relevant laws and regulations, available complaint mechanisms and legal remedies; this situation is exacerbated for victims who have few language skills or are illiterate. Furthermore, victims can often be deterred from participating in legal proceedings because simple, accessible and timely legal advice is not available to them; advice is not always freely available to victims, particularly prior to engagement with authorities. In some instances, professionals who advice or assist victims of contemporary forms of slavery are not specialized in handling cases concerning such forms of exploitation; awareness and understanding of available procedures among professionals regarding available procedures has appeared to fall short. Despite legislation in place in some countries that entitles victims to legal aid, they are often unable to gain access to those services owing to a limited number of legal aid providers; persistent delays by the relevant authorities in considering requests from victims to have access to the services; and lack of resources allocated to ensure the provision of legal services. Some jurisdictions permit registered anti-slavery NGOs to bring claims on behalf of victims (such as in the antislavery laws in Mauritania and the Niger). 6. Weak victim and witness protection 37. The absence of any legal and administrative mechanisms to protect victims from the time their complaints are registered by the police to the conclusion of the legal proceedings denies them the right to security of life and can be a powerful incentive for them not to claim their rights to have access to justice and remedy. 33 Persons subjected to slavery and 31 32 33 12 National Dalit Movement for Justice, Justice Under Trial, Caste Discrimination in Access to Justice before Special Courts (New Delhi, 2014). Available from www.annihilatecaste.in/uploads/downloads/Justice%20Under%20Trial.pdf. Submissions to the Special Rapporteur from the organizations International Dalit Solidarity Network and the Freedom Fund. See Justice Under Trial (footnote 31 above).