Commentary on Sections Part 5:  Protection of Victims Section 46:  Special measures for witnesses in criminal proceedings
227.Section 46 extends certain legislative provisions relating to special measures to victims of the section 1 and 2 offences. These include provisions whereby witnesses in certain cases are automatically treated as eligible for special measures (unless they tell the court they do not want to be eligible). Special measures apply to witnesses who are giving evidence in court and include screening the witness from the accused, giving evidence by live link, giving evidence in private, removal of wigs and gowns, video recorded evidence in chief and video recorded cross-examination or re-examination. Trafficking victims are currently already covered by the relevant provisions, so the effect in practice is to extend coverage to slavery victims too, so that (for example) all victims of slavery and trafficking are automatically eligible for special measures