Trafficking is a crime of global proportions involving
extreme forms of exploitation and abuse. Yet little research has been done of
the health risks and morbidity patterns for men, women, and children trafficked
for various forms of forced labour.
We carried out face-to-face interviews with a consecutive
sample of individuals entering 15 post-trafficking services in Cambodia,
Thailand, and Vietnam. We asked participants about living and working
conditions, experience of violence, and health outcomes. We measured symptoms
of anxiety and depression with the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist and
post-traumatic stress disorder with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, and used
adjusted logistic regression models to estimate the effect of trafficking on
these mental health outcomes, controlling for age, sector of exploitation, and
time in trafficking.
We interviewed 1102 people, of whom 1015 reached work
destinations. Participants worked in various sectors including sex work (329
[32%]), fishing (275 [27%]), and factories (136 [13%]). 481 (48%) of 1015
experienced physical violence, sexual violence, or both, with 198 (35%) of 566
women and girls reporting sexual violence. 478 (47%) of 1015 participants were
threatened and 198 (20%) were locked in a room. 685 (70%) of 985 who had data
available worked 7 days per week and 296 (30%) of 989 worked at least 11 hours
per day. 222 (22%) of 983 had a serious injury at work. 61·2% (95% CI
58·2-64·2) of participants reported symptom of depression, 42·8% (39·8-45·9)
reported symptoms of anxiety, and 38·9% (36·0-42·0) reported symptoms of
post-traumatic stress disorder. 5·2% (4·0-6·8) had attempted suicide in the
past month. Participants who experienced extremely excessive overtime at work,
restricted freedom, bad living conditions, threats, or severe violence were
more likely to report symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic
stress disorder.
This is the first health study of a large and diverse sample
of men, women, and child survivors of trafficking for various forms of
exploitation. Violence and unsafe working conditions were common and
psychological morbidity was associated with severity of abuse. Survivors of
trafficking need access to health care, especially mental health care.
Full article
at:
By:
- 1London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK. Electronic address: ligia.kiss@lshtm.ac.uk.
- 2London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
- 3International Organization for Migration, Hainoi, Vietnam.
- 4International Organization for Migration, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- 5International Organization for Migration, Bangkok, Thailand.
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