The Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking (QFCHT) has launched a free legal clinic staffed by student volunteers which it hopes will offer help to residents needing legal guidance.

Speaking to the Gulf Times, Dr Abdulla al-Mal, QFCHT chairman explained that the clinic is designed to benefit those in need of help and educate those working to help them. 

 “The legal and social clinic is an education and training system that aims at merging theory with practice. It will offer social and legal services to the vulnerable enabling them to attain their legal rights and improve their living conditions,” he said.

All advice given by the clinic will be free. QFCHT says it expects most clients to be victims of human trafficking seeking clarification about their legal rights. 

Student volunteers will only be able to work at the centre if they pass an interview and have a sufficiently good academic record. They will be required to keep all conversations confidential. In return, they will develop their interviewing skills, practice writing reports and legal memos, and conduct field visits. 

Meanwhile, a hotline for victims of human trafficking is also being launched, says the Peninsula. The number, 108, is another QFCHT initiative and should come become operational in the next few months. 

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Credit: Photo by Richard Messenger