On a still afternoon in January 2007, a group of small children, barely nine years old, were playing in the ordinariness of their neighbourhood streets, their laughter echoing under the tropical sun.
Amid the everyday scene, a figure emerged and approached the children. She invited them to a food market in the neighbouring city for some delicious treats. Though a stranger, the woman was familiar; the children often saw her selling coconut wine and vegetables nearby.
Their families were of modest means, so the invitation seemed like an enticing adventure, too good to refuse.
Despite their general enthusiasm and excitement, two children felt a slight sense of unease. Their doubts were quickly dispelled as the woman ushered them into her vehicle, with determination.
When they arrived, the woman's true intentions became clear. She told the children to beg on the bustling streets, asking for money and food from vendors, pedestrians and drivers of passing cars.
This is one of the real-life cases used to conduct mock trials.
Information on how to organize mock trials, including sample cases, can be found in a new manual by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): “How to Conduct Mock Trials and Investigation Simulations Based on Trafficking in Persons Cases”.
A mock trial is an exercise in which participants recreate an authentic trial by taking on the roles of victims, prosecutors, defence lawyers, witnesses or police officers.
By analysing the evidence and listening to the witnesses, the participants discuss whether or not a case should be considered human trafficking – just like in a real trial.
“Though it is only a simulation of a real process, it is a very intense experience because the participants put themselves in the different shoes of all the parties involved in the case,” said Alline Pedra Jorge, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at UNODC and one of the authors of the publication.
Mock trials help judges, prosecutors, investigators and other professionals to better understand the specificities of investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating trafficking cases.
To classify a case as human trafficking, experts must assess whether it meets the criteria established in their national legislation and international law, as represented by the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.
To determine whether the woman is guilty of child trafficking in the above case, the court must consider the following elements of the crime.
First, the act. Here, the judge decides whether the woman recruited, transported, harboured or received the children.
Second, the purpose. The prosecution must prove that the woman intended to exploit the children for money or other gain.
In human trafficking cases where the victims are adults, the court must also analyse the third element: the means. Here, the court considers whether the trafficker used force, threats, fraud, deception or other methods to exert control over the victim.
As fate would have it, the children were rescued that same evening. Someone noticed the presence of minors where they were not supposed to be.
The woman was brought to the courtroom.
She claimed that the children wanted to follow her to the food market and that her intention was to feed them as promised and return home to their parents, just before the police arrived.
Despite the children's consent, the court found her guilty of human trafficking for forced begging. The woman took the children to a different city to exploit them for her own benefit.
“Mock trials combine emotion and reason,” said Rachel Gershuni, Human Trafficking Expert, who helped draft the new guide.
“They bring together experts with different backgrounds and expertise and let them learn from each other in the most interactive, immersive and eye-opening way possible. They take people out of their comfort zone,”, she added.
“Organizing a mock trial can be tricky because you are dealing with so many variables. You can predict a lot of outcomes, but some may be out of your control,” Pedra said.
The UNODC expert explained that the new publication is unique in that it is the only guide dedicated to conducting mock trials on human trafficking.
It helps organizers prepare and carry out the exercise, explaining the key stages, the roles to be played, the tools to be used and the questions that may arise at each stage.
More information on the manual can be found here.
The manual has been developed with the support of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Department of State of the United States of America.
