The law and nothing but the law? How the law can fail victims of human trafficking during the criminal justice process in the Netherlands

Various human trafficking legislations have been drafted; although some of their wording and implementation may amount to violations of rights. Based on an analysis of interviews (N = 5) with professionals working in the field of human trafficking, this article will discuss deficits in human trafficking law that lead to not adequately tackling human trafficking and supporting its victims. These deficits in the law are coined ‘legal injustice’. This term, ‘legal injustice’, will be elaborated on by going through three concepts coined by Suzan Brison. The threefold findings will be discussed: (1) the embodied self: how the body experiences victimisation and its aftermath; the rights victims have relating to residency and assistance; (2) the narrative self: how victims made sense of their experiences; the vulnerability label they often automatically receive by law may not always be to victims’ advantage, their perception of their identity, and their physical and psychological well-being; (3) the autonomous self: the importance of connections with others; victims’ experiences during the criminal justice process; how victims experience seeing their trafficker and listening to the trafficker’s lawyer; how victims experience the length of the court case, sentencing, and compensation. Suggestions to minimise legal injustice will be given for practice, police, and future research.