RECEPTION DESK & community life

The CCEM receives reports of possible victims every day. Social workers, volunteers, professionals from other NGOs, neighbours, shopkeepers, labour inspectors, gendarmes, police officers, emergency workers, and even attentive bystanders report people to the CCEM.
Thorough work is essential at reception of the reports. The victim identification phase is the most sensitive, especially if the exploitation is still ongoing.

Before deciding on the accompaniment, the CCEM studies the path of each reported person and their current situation as part of its comprehensive approach (legal, administrative, and social). Some cases are decided upon in urgency, especially in situations of violence and need for urgent shelter. On average, the support of the CCEM continues for four to five years for the social work and can go on for up to 12 years regarding the legal procedures.

Each report is analysed based on 7 criteria:

• • Exorbitant workload without days-off
  • Absence or insufficiency of remuneration
  • Confiscation of identity documents
  • Existence of threats, bullying, insults or any other psychological or physical violence.
  • Control of contact with the outside world and social and family ties
  • Discriminatory living conditions

Regarding these criteria, each situation is examined with great attention, taking into account a person’s vulnerability.

Legal support

Access to justice for victims, remains a complex process that usually requires the support of specialized associations. The Committee Against Modern Slavery (CCEM) has strived to accompany victims of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation in their court proceedings for more than 30 years. The objective of the association is to obtain recognition by the justice of the existence of this phenomenon and thus the recognition of the rights and the compensation for the victims.

Legal support involves different missions to victims of human trafficking and other forms of labour exploitation:

• • The analysis of facts, evidence, or possible judicial obstacles
  • The information on the rights of victims and the different steps possible for them, including the possibility of filing a complaint
  • The determination of the legal strategy in the case
  • The referral of justice and the accompaniment of the victim in this process
  • The follow-up of procedures both at the criminal and administrative level
  • The follow-up of related procedures such as referral to the labour court or the family court

SOCIAL WORK

Social support is the first step in helping victims after months and years of exploitation to regain their rights and dignity, their independence, and lay the foundations for integration, enabling them to cope with everyday life and the particularly stressful moments of legal procedures (filing complaints, court hearings, etc.).
The social support of the CCEM is individualized according to every person’s needs. It starts with listening, essential to understand the suffering of the past, the difficulties of the present and to better accompany the victims who remain anxious about their future. It also gives comfort and moral support to encourage the person to communicate their needs. This then lays the foundation for future support and helps to set the objectives and priorities for the future.

For accommodation, the CCEM offers support to find solutions for shelter and housing under the common law mechanisms (115, SIAO, etc.). In addition, the CCEM has a 6-place emergency apartment for women and a 4-place emergency apartment for men fleeing exploitation. This accommodation provides them with shelter, the opportunity to settle down in a safe space, and to undertake all the actions offered as part of social support.

The CCEM also offers psychological support and counselling to the victims it assists.
Following violent and potentially traumatic events, such as those experienced by victims of labour exploitation who are assisted by the CCEM, people are affected in their psychological well-being and may develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression.
After an initial individual meeting and an assessment of the victim’s condition and their request, the psychologist offers them more or less regular follow-ups, depending on their needs. The appointments take place in French, Arabic, or English. In parallel with this follow-up, the CCEM psychologist may provide occasional support at key moments in their legal procedures, for example when filing a complaint, confronting the perpetrators, or attending a court hearing.

AWARENESS & TRAINING

Since its creation, the CCEM has focused on raising awareness of the reality of human trafficking for economic purposes, particularly for domestic work and contemporary forms of slavery. It also shares its expertise and the actions it puts in place to combat modern slavery and to help victims rebuild their lives. The CCEM is regularly asked to talk about these issues throughout France.
Our goal is to reach people who can help in the fight against trafficking for labour exploitation.

The CCEM also promotes awareness directly with vulnerable individuals. With this in mind, it has developed a tool to prevent trafficking for labour exploitation and to raise awareness of French labour law, which can be found here.

ADVOCACY

Since its creation, the CCEM has strived to raise awareness of the reality of human trafficking for economic purposes, in particular for domestic work and contemporary forms of slavery. The hundreds of legal procedures followed by the CCEM, since its founding, have provided in-depth knowledge of the difficulties with the current legislation and legal institutions in terms of penalizing human trafficking and compensating victims for its damages. Drawing on this expertise, the CCEM conducts awareness-raising campaigns among the general public, training for professionals, and advocacy with public authorities to improve the handling of cases of trafficking for labour exploitation.
Advocacy is an important part of the CCEM’s activity as its expertise in the field of domestic slavery allows it to recommend changes to the law to members of parliament and senators or to participate in working groups both in France, Europe and internationally as an actor of civil society.

Broadly speaking, the CCEM advocates for:

• • The adoption of a national mechanism for the identification and reorientation of victims of human trafficking in France, allowing for better cooperation between institutions and associations.
  • A better access to housing for victims of labour exploitation; the absence of housing being a factor of considerable vulnerability which can lead to exploitation or refusal to leave the area of exploitation.
  • A better access to psychological and psychiatric care in order to enable victims to rebuild themselves and to help them regain their independence.