7 in 10 human trafficking victims are women and girls. What are the psychological effects?

The United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit,” and says it is practiced everywhere in the world. More than 27 million people are trafficked worldwide at any given time, according to the United States Department of State.

While boys and men are victims as well, most individuals identified as trafficked for both labor and commercial sex are women and girls. For every 10 victims detected globally, five are adult women and two are girls, according to a report released in 2021 by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (PDF, 18MB).

The physical and mental health effects of human trafficking are serious. It can cause a loss of basic human rights, loss of one’s childhood, disruption in families, and severe mental health consequences, including anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance abuse.

Studies show that women who have been trafficked for sex have higher levels of fear, are more isolated, and have greater trauma and mental health needs than other victims of crime. Trafficked women and girls also encounter high rates of physical and sexual violence, memory loss, sexually transmitted diseases, and traumatic brain injuries.

Depression, anxiety, and PTSD rates are also high among sex and labor trafficking survivors, with higher rates typically reported by female survivors. A 2016 study investigating physical and mental health, and experiences of violence among male and female trafficking survivors in England found 78% of women and 40% of men reported high levels of depression, anxiety, or PTSD symptoms. A 2022 study points to the potential for sex trafficking victims to experience Stockholm syndrome, or an emotional attachment to their abuser. Substance use, abuse, and addiction are also common behavioral health outcomes among survivors of human trafficking.

The U.S. Department of State has put together a list of some key red flags that could signal someone is in a potential trafficking situation that should be reported:

• Living with employer
• Poor living conditions
• Multiple people in cramped space
• Inability to speak to individual alone
• Answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed
• Employer is holding identity documents
• Signs of physical abuse
• Submissive or fearful
• Unpaid or paid very little
• Under 18 and in prostitution

If you believe you have identified someone in a trafficking situation, alert local law enforcement immediately. It may be unsafe to attempt to rescue a trafficking victim. You have no way of knowing how the trafficker may react and retaliate against the victim and you. If, however, you identify a victim who has escaped the trafficking situation, there are several organizations to whom the victim could be referred for help with shelter, medical care, legal assistance, and other critical services, including:

• The National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888) provides 24/7 toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and live online chat function availability to connect individuals who have experienced trafficking with services and support.
• The Office on Trafficking in Persons provides instructions and guidance for helping foreign national adults and foreign national minors who have experienced human trafficking access mental health benefits and services.
• The Online Directory of Crime Victim Services from the Office of Victims of Crime in the U.S. Department of Justice identifies local organizations providing services, including mental health treatment, for affected populations

Psychologists can help prevent trafficking by backing empowerment programs for vulnerable women, working to change the public's perceptions about the commercial sex trade to reduce demand, championing the rights of victimized women, and identifying at-risk individuals in schools and other settings, said Nancy Sidun, PsyD, ABPP, ATR, cochair of APA’s Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls, created in 2014.

Psychologists can also develop effective therapeutic interventions that will address the extensive and complex needs of women for whom the very concept of trust has been shredded and evaluate governmental and nonprofit programs that have been set up to intervene. Sidun also noted that one of the most important roles of psychologists is to educate the public and officials in the criminal justice system.

“People need to know how to recognize trafficking when they see it, and how to follow up with appropriate action that will lead to freeing the women and prosecuting the traffickers,” Sidun said. “When coercion is psychological, it’s not always easy to understand the dynamic without some familiarity with research that has been done on the topic, which psychologists can make available and digestible.”