A/HRC/20/18 residence status.53 In accordance with measure No. 7 of its Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (2006-2009), Norway affords victims a six-month period of reflection free of conditions, which includes access to assistance and services. Italy does not limit the time given to trafficking victims to recuperate and to decide whether to assist authorities. In addition, foreign child victims receive an automatic residence permit until the age of 18. 54 42. The Special Rapporteur notes that other States have linked the provision of assistance and protection to cooperation with national criminal justice agencies. For example, in Norway, in accordance with measure No. 5 of its Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, permanent residency permits are available for trafficking victims who face retribution or hardship in their country of origin as long as they give a statement to police outside of court and for those victims who testify in court. In some legal systems, the issue of conditional assistance is complicated by a legal requirement on victims to cooperate in an investigation or prosecution if that cooperation is deemed necessary. The Special Rapporteur notes that, in accordance with international law, support and protection should not be made conditional on the victim’s capacity or willingness to cooperate in legal proceedings. 55 43. The Special Rapporteur is concerned, however, by practices where victims of trafficking are mandatorily detained in shelters. Although the Special Rapporteur recognizes that the motivation for this may be to protect victims, she notes that the routine detention of victims of trafficking violates, in some circumstances, the right to freedom of movement and, in most, if not all, circumstances, the prohibitions on unlawful deprivation of liberty and arbitrary detention. 56 International law absolutely prohibits any discriminatory detention of victims, including detention that is linked to the sex of the victim. The routine detention of women and of children in shelter facilities, for example, is clearly discriminatory and therefore unlawful. 44. In Thailand, concerns persist that children and women identified as victims of trafficking are automatically placed in Government-run shelters, pursued if they “escape” and, in some cases, forced to spend years awaiting processing. Such detention not only impedes the rights of victims but also discourages and diminishes the quality of victim cooperation with authorities. Above and beyond the infringement of victims’ human rights, the Special Rapporteur observes that such an approach can serve as a disincentive for victims to report cases to authorities.57 E. Cooperation between criminal justice and victim support agencies 45. Numerous international legal and policy instruments agree that any effective antitrafficking effort must involve close collaboration between criminal justice agencies and victim support agencies, including non-governmental organizations.58 53 54 55 56 57 58 Submission by the Netherlands, p. 9. See United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2011 (see footnote 23), p. 61, and www.state.gov/documents/organization/164454.pdf. See, for example, E/2002/68/Add.1, guideline 6.1., Legislative Guide, Part 2, para. 62, and Recommended Principles and Guidelines: Commentary (see footnote 6), p. 14. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts 9 and 10. A/HRC/20/18/Add.4. See Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, arts. 6 (3) and 9 (3); the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, art. 35, the United 11