Mental Health Consequences of Human Trafficking

Author: Banu, Sophia; Saunders, John; Conner, Cynthia; Blassingame, Jonathan & Shah, Asim

Abstract: Human trafficking (HT) has been described as modern-day slavery. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines HT as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through force, fraud, or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit. Men, women, and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of this crime worldwide. The traffickers often use violence or fraudulent employment agencies and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims. This article mainly focuses on the devastating mental health consequences of trafficked individuals. Unfortunately, the number of people, including children, being trafficked has risen exponentially, within countries and across borders universally. This alarming worldwide increase is fueled by multiple factors, including an increase in organized crime; however, multiple agencies and governments are working hard to combat this terrible plague.

Keywords: human trafficking, trafficked individuals, mental health, consequences