Lifeline: A Qualitative Analysis of the Post Intervention Experiences of Human Trafficking Survivors and At-risk Women in Ghana

Balfour, Giselle; Callands, Tamora A.; Okech, David; Kombian, Grace

doi:10.1080/26408066.2020.1729920

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Human trafficking survivors were found to often lack basic life and survival skills as a result of the young age that they left home. By assigning them roles and responsibilities, the program ensured that survivors were informally provided with critical skills including cooking, caring for a home, decision making, and effective communication [ 43 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human trafficking risk factors, health impacts, and opportunities for intervention in Uganda: a qualitative analysis

Klabbers,

Hughes,

Dank

et al. 2023

glob health res policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Human trafficking is a global public health issue that is associated with serious short- and long-term morbidity. To address and prevent human trafficking, vulnerabilities to human trafficking and forces sustaining it need to be better understood among specific subpopulations. We aimed to explore risk and protective factors for human trafficking, the health impact of exploitation, and barriers and facilitators of seeking help throughout the human trafficking trajectory among forced labor and sex trafficking victims in Kampala, Uganda. Methods Between March and November 2020, in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 108 victims of forced labor and sex trafficking who had completed a human trafficking survey conducted by the Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL). Participants who experienced various forms of exploitation were purposively invited for qualitative interviews and a convenience sample was interviewed. Interviews explored personal history, trafficking recruitment, experiences of exploitation and abuse, and experiences seeking help. Interviews were analyzed using a combination of deductive and inductive thematic analysis. Themes and subthemes were organized using an adapted conceptual framework of human trafficking. Results Poverty and an abusive home life, frequently triggered by the death of a caretaker, underpinned vulnerability to human trafficking recruitment. Limited education, lack of social support, and survival needs pushed victims into exploitative situations. Victims of human trafficking were systematically exploited and exposed to dangerous working conditions. Victims suffered from sexually transmitted diseases, incontinence, traumatic fistulae, musculoskeletal injuries, and mental health symptoms. Lack of awareness of resources, fear of negative consequences, restrictions on movement, and dependence on the trafficker and exploitation income prevented victims from seeking help. The police and healthcare workers were the few professionals that they interacted with, but these interactions were oftentimes negative experiences. Conclusions To address and prevent human trafficking, localized interventions are needed at all stages of the human trafficking trajectory. Health impacts of human trafficking are severe. As some of the few professionals trafficking victims interact with, police and healthcare workers are important targets for anti-trafficking training. Improved understanding of human trafficking drivers and barriers and facilitators to seeking help can inform the design of necessary interventions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human trafficking risk factors, health impacts, and opportunities for intervention in Uganda: a qualitative analysis

Klabbers,

Hughes,

Dank

et al. 2023

glob health res policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Social work practice also needs to be informed by the victims' frame of reference in relation to understanding their previous assistance provision experiences and interaction with front-line practitionersif any (Gearon, 2019). This study also draws attention to the need to design and develop standards for monitoring and evaluating services as provided by social workers and other practitioners in shelters (Balfour et al, 2020;Botha & Warria, 2020;Rafferty, 2018).…”

Section: Implications For Social Work Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent paper by Sambo and Spies (2020) looked at the trauma experienced by women survivors of trafficking in South Africa. This study investigates the challenges described by Muraya and Fry (2016) and Balfour, Callands, Okech and Kombian (2020) faced by practitioners in documenting their work for the purposes of sharing information and building an evidence base for social work practice. In South Africa, although the 2004 Service Charter for Victims supports the country's Constitution (1996) and highlights the rights of victims, including service provision to human trafficking victims, few studies have been conducted on this and few organisations provide comprehensive services to the victims.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of Social Workers Providing Social Services to Adult Victims of Human Trafficking in Select Shelters in South Africa

Botha

Warria

2021

SWORK

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human trafficking is a global multi-million dollar industry which capitalises on the trade in human beings. It inflicts degrading experiences on its victims, hence its characterisation as modern-day slavery. This research aimed to investigate social service provision to adult victims of human trafficking in South Africa. A qualitative approach was used; data were collected using individual interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that social workers faced challenges such as delays in court cases, complicated trauma, security issues and mistrustall impacting on service delivery.

show abstract

“…Some of the individual-level consequences of trafficking include high levels of mental and physical trauma, negative view of self, substance use, and lost opportunities resulting from a lack of education or vocational development (Edmond, 2018; Garg et al, 2020; Hopper, 2017; Oram et al, 2016). Long-term consequences are not limited to the individual level, especially during reintegration into a survivor’s family of origin or home community (Balfour et al, 2020; Munsey et al, 2018). The sequela of trafficking affects the larger community and society.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Social Service Interventions for Human Trafficking Survivors Work? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Schroeder,

Yi,

Okech

et al. 2023

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human trafficking leaves victims with long-term social, psychological, and health effects. Research in this area is still nascent, and there are limited studies that show the effectiveness of existing services for survivors. This study fills the gaps in knowledge of the effectiveness of existing programs through a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. Inclusion and exclusion criteria retained 15 studies using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method, containing 16 populations. Included studies examined programs and/or interventions providing direct services to human trafficking survivors using quantitative pre- and post-intervention measurements published from January 2010 to June 2022. Outcomes among survivors were grouped into five categories: (a) mental health, (b) physical health, (c) social support or social behavior, (d) personal development, and (e) other. Roughly half ( n = 31, 51.66%) of the outcomes across the 15 studies were statistically significant. Most measured constructs showed a moderate effect size (E.S.; n = 31, 51.67%). In all, 21 constructs (27.91%) met high E.S. levels, and eight (13.33%) met the criteria for a low-level effect. Analyzing different intervention types, physical-based interventions represented the smallest subset and the largest mean effect size ( n = 5, g = 1.632, 95% CI [0.608, 2.655]) followed by standardized therapy ( n = 23, g = 1.111, 95% CI [0.624, 1.599]), wrap-around services ( n = 14, g = 0.594, 95% CI [0.241, 0.947]), and peer and support group modalities ( n = 18, g = 0.440, 95% CI [0.310, 0.571]). A meta-regression showed that non-U.S.-based interventions were significantly more effective than U.S.-based interventions ( z = −2.25, p = 0.025). While only 15 studies contributed to this analysis, the current study ushered in new avenues regarding future research, policies, and practice in services for survivors of human trafficking.

show abstract

Lifeline: A Qualitative Analysis of the Post Intervention Experiences of Human Trafficking Survivors and At-risk Women in Ghana

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Human trafficking risk factors, health impacts, and opportunities for intervention in Uganda: a qualitative analysis

Human trafficking risk factors, health impacts, and opportunities for intervention in Uganda: a qualitative analysis

Challenges of Social Workers Providing Social Services to Adult Victims of Human Trafficking in Select Shelters in South Africa

Do Social Service Interventions for Human Trafficking Survivors Work? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About