Human Trafficking Awareness Statistics in the Mental Health Field

Over 21 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking, with more than 800,000 enslaved each year (Human Trafficking, 2021). In the United States, there have been 11,193 reported cases in 2021. Since 2007, there have been a total of 5,557 reported cases in the state of Georgia. That is around 396 human trafficking victims per year in Georgia alone (Georgia, 2021).  

Human Trafficking: is defined as the recruitment and movement of people using deception and coercion for exploitation.  

Over half of human trafficked survivors receive mental health services. The most common mental health problems associated with trafficking can be: 

-Depression 

-Anxiety 

-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 

-Self-harm 

-Suicide attempt 

These mental disorders are influenced by pre-trafficking abuse, the duration of exploitation, violence, restriction from movement, a significant number of unmet needs, and no social support.  

As a mental health provider, these are the things to look for in potential trafficking victims: 

• The client discloses trafficking to a mental health provider 
• The client has signs of physical and psychological trauma  
• The client is unable to speak the local language 
• The client is unable to provide essential identity documents (license, passport, birth certificate) 

Mental health care workers who work with trafficked victims should: 

• These clients should be routinely asked about current or past experiences of abuse.  
• Risk Assessment  
• Safety Plan that includes the risk of re-trafficking 
• Should explore past emotions such as fearfulness, guilt, shame, hopelessness, anger, easily startled, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.  
• The treatment for clients who have survived human trafficking should be in line with those clients who have experienced trauma. Evidence-based interventions for PTSD or trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy can help treat survivors of human trafficking. Along with assistance in social, financial, and legal support, help with regulating emotions and coping with dissociation (Altun et al., 2017).

References 

Altun, S., Abas, M., Zimmerman, C., Howard, L. M., & Oram, S. (2017, February 1). Mental health and human trafficking: Responding to survivors’ needs. BJPsych international. Retrieved December 16, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618827/

Georgia. National Human Trafficking Hotline. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2021, from https://humantraffickinghotline.org/state/georgia

Human trafficking. Human Rights First. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2021, from https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/topics/human-trafficking