Mental Health and Human Sex Trafficking Among Youth in the US : A Focus on FBOs and Spiritual Health Recovery

Abstract

Victims of human trafficking endure physical and mental anguish. Young children and women can suffer from physical violence during laborious work, or client and owner encounters. Owners of victims are also abusive and manipulative in order to force compliance. They can also suffer from mental illnesses as a result of long term abuse. According to Zimmerman [1], “Labor trafficking, including both forced and bonded labor is by far the largest category of human trafficking” [2,3]. Zimmerman states that, "The State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2009) estimates that just 1.39 million individuals out of the 12.3 million persons enslaved worldwide are trafficked into the commercial sex industry” (p. 568). Children caught up in this crime should not be classified as juvenile delinquents as they are clearly victims. Boxill [4] explains that, “American children who have been prostituted describes these children primarily as juvenile delinquents” (p. 138). These children should not be considered juvenile delinquents and provided with appropriate health care to become productive citizens. Women and children should be cared foras victims and receive the appropriate mental health treatment from government and community entities.