Human Trafficking: The Impact of Inhumanity on Victims
- unwillingcargo
- Nov 8, 2021
- 4 min read
4 November 2021
By Julia Varughese
In the 2012 film Eden, viewers follow Eden, an 18-year-old girl that is lured into a prostitution ring by domestic traffickers and is subjected to years of sexual, physical, and mental abuse/violence. With the help of law enforcement and chance, Eden can break free and return to her family (IMDb).
Then curtains close, the credits roll, and the outro song fades in. But what happens next?
Does Eden go back to the life that she was taken away from and start back again as if nothing happened?
Unfortunately, for trafficking victims, this is not the case and usually has dire consequences to the victim's mental, physical, and social conditions. Therefore, it is important to go beyond fighting and preventing trafficking but to expand the supportive systems for sex and labor trafficking victims
Mental Impacts
The repeated violence, the dehumanization/objectification, and the witnessing of violence against others are some of the many factors that contribute to the psychological and social impact on victims.
Source: Shutterstock
In general, some of the common psychological symptoms found in victims include negative coping mechanisms (self-mutilation, self-harm, and substance abuse), depression, anxiety, hostility, and dissociation (memory loss, inability to focus). There are also negative social effects that present themselves such as “fear regression, shame, behavioral problems, re-experiencing trauma in daily activities (PTSD), psychosomatic problems, and difficulty forming and maintaining relationships.” Victims may also face social stigma or self-stigmatization which may cause isolating behaviors and can exacerbate other mental effects (OVCTTAC).
As SWAV summarizes it, victims face a unique, “complex trauma” that is the compound of various forms of trauma from before trafficking to being trafficked.
Physical Impacts
Research done by the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center shows that “almost all victims of trafficking suffer at least one physical health problem.” This is in the case of both sex and labor trafficking wherein both cases victims are subject to inhumane conditions and the lack of concern from traffickers who actively objectify them for exploitive reasons.
For forced sex labor, victims have reported ailments such as STDs, genital trauma, complications from repeated physical abuse, self-harm, malnourishment, substance abuse problems (either from being forced or to cope), and other issues stemming from the neglect of necessities of good health (diet, rest, hygiene, etc.). In forced labor, the lack of safe working environments, no protective gear, and poor living conditions can lead to multiple health risks such as physical injuries, heat/cold stress, the intoxication of chemicals/pesticides. (SVAW).
Source: https://agenthealth.ai/
Combined Effects
Both mental and physical effects can become major obstacles to stable employment and economic security. Often, victims who have escaped abuse are faced with a lack of human capital for reasons such as: being a minor when trafficked, lack of legal work experience, incompletion of high school, no legal immigration status, a criminal record of the trafficked acts (e.g., prostitution), language barriers, etc. These obstacles hinder the ability of victims to be financially/economically independent especially in the long run (which is crucial even though they may be eligible to receive financial compensation through TVPA) (Bocinski).
Moving Forward
Human trafficking is a crime against humanity that impacts the victim’s whole person. And even though the United States has the Trafficking Victims Protection Act which entitles victims to benefits and protection, according to GAATW, only a small proportion of trafficked victims seek out supportive services, even though mental and health risks persist.
Source: Aron Visuals on Unsplash
Therefore, it is important for social institutions to create a wide range of supportive services that include “housing assistance, legal assistance, physical and mental health services, counseling for psychological trauma, substance abuse treatment, education, and job training, among other services” (Clawson et. al.). But service providers must be well educated and informed on how to accomplish this. One method is making sure that medical professionals are educated in a manner that is “grounded in a victim-centered, culturally relevant, evidence-based, gender-sensitive, trauma-informed perspective and include the essential components of prevention and identification of trafficking and treatment of trafficking-related health conditions” (Stoklosa et al.). This is especially important because preventive health care for physical effects can be impossible to effectively target and is “virtually non-existent” (Department of Health et al.). For forced laborers, especially non-native immigrants, “require case managers and service providers who can identify the specific needs and provide customized treatment and reintegration plans” (NCDVS).
Overall, it is important to understand that victims have their unique needs both immediate and long-term. Victims need supportive services that meet those needs but also continue assisting them to reintegrate into society and be financially independent. As the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center states, this ranges from “educational and job training skills, childcare, and legal services” to “language training and translation services” (OVCTTAC). In sum, it is crucial for public policy and supportive services to be more expansive and long-term in helping victims post-trafficking to reintegrate them into society, empower them to regain their sense of self, and eliminate any risk or re-victimization.
In Conclusion...
Trafficking is defined as a crime against humanity for a reason, it actively threatens the inherent rights and humanity of victims. But victims do not stop being victims once their leave their captors, they are still subject to the mental, physical, and social effects of abuse they faced. Therefore, it is crucial for society to not only be active in combatting and preventing this heinousness but also be equipped to help victims regain their sense of self (i.e., their humanity/identity).
References
Bocinski, Sarah Gonzalez. “The Economic Drivers and Consequences of Sex Trafficking in the United States.” IWPR, 9 Sept. 2020, iwpr.org/iwpr-publications/briefing-paper/the-economic-drivers-and-consequences-of-sex-trafficking-in-the-united-states/.
Clawson, Heather J., Kevonne M. Small, Ellen S. Go, and Bradley W. Myles. 2003. Needs Assessment for Service Providers and Trafficking Victims. Fairfax, VA. <https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/202469.pdf
Department of Health & Human Services, and Rescue & Restore. Administration for Children & Families, RESOURCES: COMMON HEALTH ISSUES SEEN IN VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
GAATW. Collateral damage: the impact of anti-trafficking measures on human rights around the world. Bangkok, Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, 2007
IMDb. “Eden.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 19 July 2013, www.imdb.com/title/tt1734433/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_2.
Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center. ser. 1, National Center for Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2012, Human Trafficking.
Stoklosa, Hanni, Aimee Grace, Nicole Littenberg. "Medical Education on Human Trafficking." AMA Journal of Ethics 17, no. 10 (2015): 914-921. DOI: 10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.10.medu1-1510
SVAW. “Health Consequences of Human Trafficking.” The Advocates For Human Rights, Stop Violence Against Women, www.stopvaw.org/health_consequences_of_trafficking.
Comments