8 PRINCIPLE 8 AND RELATED GUIDELINES: PROTECTION OF AND SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS302 States shall ensure that trafficked persons are protected from further exploitation and harm and have access to adequate physical and psychological care. Such protection and care shall not be made conditional upon the capacity or willingness of the trafficked person to cooperate in legal proceedings. 302 8.1. PURPOSE AND CONTEXT Victims who break free from their traffickers often find themselves in a situation of great insecurity and vulnerability. They may be physically injured as well as physically and/or emotionally traumatized. They may be afraid of retaliation. They are likely to have few, if any, means of subsistence. Under Principle 8, the State is required, first and foremost, to ensure that the victim is protected from further exploitation and harm – from those who have already exploited that person and from anyone else. The State is also required to provide the victim with physical and psychological care that is adequate to meet at least immediate needs. These requirements This section draws on Gallagher, International Law of Human Trafficking, chap. 5. 302 confirm and extend the State’s obligation to safeguard the human rights of trafficked persons (see Principle 1 and related Guidelines) and to act with due diligence to ensure their safety and protection against further abuse (see Principle 2 and related Guidelines). Importantly, the provision of such care is identified as being a non-negotiable right of the victim: a right that should be recognized and implemented irrespective of that person’s capacity or willingness to cooperate with criminal justice authorities in the investigation or prosecution of traffickers. Principle 8 explicitly places the responsibility of protecting and caring for victims on the State. This responsibility becomes operational when the State knows or should know that an individual within its jurisdiction is a victim of trafficking. The principle is applicable to any country in whose territory a victim may be located. It applies to all trafficked persons, whether victims of national or transnational trafficking. Principle 8 acknowledges that the harm experienced by victims of trafficking does not necessarily cease when they come to the attention of national authorities. The corruption and complicity of public officials may result in a continuation of an exploitative situation or the COMMENTARY 141