Support for adult victims of trafficking and exploitation - guidance: consultation analysis

12. Question 10 – Legal Assistance

Question: Does the guidance set out clearly the legal assistance that may be available to adult victims of human trafficking?

Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

Positive Comments

Some responses noted that the section provides a helpful summary of the types of legal assistance that may be accessed, and that it appropriately directs practitioners and victims towards existing systems such as legal aid and regulated legal services. The section was described as demonstrating an understanding of the legal landscape and the need to support victims in navigating complex legal processes.

Need for further clarity

Several areas were identified where further clarity was required. This included clarifying upfront what types of legal representation victims may require. The types of legal representation they might need include:

• NRM processes
• Criminal proceedings (where they are accused of having committed crimes including crimes of trafficking and exploitation)
• Immigration advice
• Advice on compensation
• Employment and housing rights
• Common legal matters

This section should clearly set out what victims are entitled to, how they access it, and who is responsible for ensuring they do. These clear pathways to legal support need to highlight the role of practitioners in supporting access to legal advice and ensuring individuals understand their rights, particularly where capacity or communication barriers exist. This is important to avoid potential uncertainty in multi-agency contexts, where responsibility for facilitating access to legal advice may not be clearly assigned.

Specifically, a need to strengthen the connection between immigration advice, trafficking support, and the wider legal framework. Clarifying how these interact, and providing access to immigration advice is particularly important in relation to options such as discretionary leave or temporary permission to stay, and can be central to a victim’s recovery and stability. It was also noted, however, that while specific mention of the Immigration Advice Authority needs to be made, that provision of immigration advice is not within the role of the SAVTS support providers.

Information about NRPF should be included in the overview as an issue that affects many victims. It was noted that explicitly linking legal assistance to immigration status and NRPF considerations would support clearer understanding for victims and practitioners, particularly where access to benefits, housing or other services is affected by immigration conditions.

Need for practical information

A need for step-by-step explanations of how victims can practically access legal aid, including referral pathways and expected timelines, is required. This should include clearer signposting to specialist legal providers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and independent advocacy services.

One of the lived experience responses noted that providing information about legal services was of high importance as survivors may be unfamiliar with how these work, and may have a lack of trust towards authority, often reinforced by their traffickers. The guidance should therefore address common barriers to accessing legal support, such as lack of awareness, distrust of authorities, language barriers, or uncertainty around immigration status, and provide strategies to overcome these challenges. It was also stressed by lived experience responses that support provides play a vital role in assisting survivors access legal assistance.

A suggestion was made that victims need to understand that they may face delays in accessing legal assistance or may end up needing a longer-term support with their legal processes and may need advice on the practical affordability of the process.

Suggested additions to the Guidance

Most responses noted that the Guidance addresses the survivor mainly as a victim or a witness and does not sufficiently address survivors who are subject to the criminal justice process as a consequence of their exploitation. Many survivors first come into contact with statutory agencies not as identified victims, but as suspects or defendants. It was noted that it is important that indicators of trafficking and exploitation are identified at the earliest possible stage, and that the Lord Advocate's Instructions on the non-punishment principle are considered and applied wherever appropriate. Some responses highlighted that while the Lord Advocate’s instructions detail the non-punishment principle to not prosecute victims for offences linked to their exploitation, they are poorly understood among key practitioners and a lack of awareness throughout the criminal justice system means victims continue to be at risk of investigation and prosecution.

The section therefore needs to provide guidance on the legal assistance this cohort requires and should clearly set out the role support providers are expected to perform in these circumstances, including the role they play in identifying trafficking and the point at which this should occur.

Other concerns or comments

A recommendation was made that the Guidance should direct support providers to discuss making referrals for legal advice for all adult victims as legal assistance must be considered as a core component of victim support.

There was a call for acknowledging in the Guidance the victims’ need for and the availability of support with the emotional and personal impact of participating in criminal proceedings. The guidance could more explicitly integrate trauma-informed and survivor-centred approaches within legal processes, ensuring victims are supported to engage safely and meaningfully with the justice system. The limited availability of legal advice that is available and the impact the delay in accessing such support can have in people’s recovery, needs to be acknowledged in the Guidance.

Additional suggestions included making reference to the support that Justice and Care Victim Navigators provide through funding from the Scottish Government and elaborating on the Temporary Permission to Stay criteria considered by the Home Office and linking to the Temporary Leave to Remain guidance for more information.

Overall, the feedback suggests that the basic information contained in section 6.7 is generally understandable, but that respondents would welcome a more practical and realistic account of how compensation can be accessed. The principal issue raised was therefore less the identification of the available routes and more whether survivors are given sufficient information and support to navigate those routes successfully.