Part 2.3 PROTECTION OF AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS INTRODUCTION A human rights approach to trafficking demands that priority be given to protecting and supporting individuals who have been trafficked. The Principles and related Guidelines explored in this section set out the key components of a rights-based approach to victim protection and assistance. The challenges in ensuring adequate and appropriate treatment for victims of trafficking are considerable. For example, despite their position as victims of crime and victims of human rights violations, many trafficked persons are implicated in committing offences of some sort, albeit under duress. This Commentary, under Principle 7 and related Guidelines, explores this phenomenon and its impact on human rights. The Commentary also details developments in international law and policy that point to a growing rejection of the idea of arresting or prosecuting trafficked persons for offences committed as a direct consequence of their having been trafficked; and a similar rejection of the idea of routinely detaining victims in welfare or immigration facilities. Principles 8 and 9 and their related Guidelines identify, more specifically, the right of victims of trafficking to protection and support, and also to legal assistance. The Commentary confirms that all victims, irrespective of their involvement in any legal process, have an enforceable right to immediate support and protection. States that accord victim status and assistance only to those who agree to get involved in the criminal justice process are not meeting this international standard. In terms of minimum entitlements, victims have the legal right to have their immediate physical safety ensured and to be protected, by the State, from further harm. In most cases, this will require victim privacy to be respected, in law and in fact. Victims should also be given information and legal advice on the options that are available to them, including their rights and options as witnesses under the criminal justice system of the country in which they are currently located. The Trafficking Principles and Guidelines acknowledge the vulnerable position of children. Principle 10 and related Guidelines detail the special rights that are thereby accorded to them and the corresponding obligations of States and others dealing with child victims of trafficking. The Commentary explores this aspect of victim protection carefully, noting that the best interests of the child are to be at all times paramount COMMENTARY 127