As an organization, we believe in the use of the rule of law in addressing some of the root causes in human trafficking. Our work looks at supporting survivors as they navigate the criminal justice framework pre-trial, during the trial, and post-trial, we recognize that this process can be extremely difficult for survivors. HAART believes that justice should be approached as a form of care for survivors. This is mainly done through our legal aid program which focuses exclusively on supporting survivors’ access to justice.
At HAART we are also looking at using the courts to address the implementation of laws and policies that address the issue of trafficking. HAART partners and works with all the arms of the judiciary to ensure that the policies available are improved through the court and also that there is accountability when this does not happen. HAART has been involved in training prosecutors, judges, the police and also working with other organizations that offer legal support to victims of trafficking to ensure that the criminal justice framework protects the survivors that we serve.
HAART believes that survivors should have agency when they go through the criminal justice framework and understanding their rights is a key aspect of this process. Training of survivors on rights is done on a case-to-case basis. To this end, we have developed a legal handbook to support frontline workers in the counter-trafficking sphere.
