By Cayla Hari and Professor Temilola Salami Human trafficking is a form of slavery and an egregious human rights violation where victims are exploited through means that involve force, fraud, or coercion. The two most common forms of trafficking are labour trafficking and sex trafficking; however, other forms include organ trafficking, forced criminal activity, and debt bondage. Victims often face physical and psychological health concerns as a result of being trafficked. Physical and mental health symptoms persist even after victims have escaped their abusive situation. In 2000, the United Nations established the Palermo Protocol, which was designed to prevent, suppress, and punish the trafficking of individuals. The Palermo Protocol led to a global increase in the awareness of trafficking, as well as research and funding devoted to trafficking awareness. Although human trafficking occurs both amongst native-born and foreign-born persons, stakeholders invested in the health and wellness of human trafficking victims need to note additional considerations for foreign-born victims. Persons who are in the process of immigrating to, or who have recently immigrated to North America are vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers. Foreign-born victims must navigate unfamiliar customs and laws, new surroundings, and language barriers, which increase their vulnerability of being trafficked. Traffickers are aware of the social and economic adversities victims face and use these circumstances to exploit victims. For example, immigrants escaping adverse circumstances may be coerced into paying high immigration and transportation fees and become indebted to traffickers. Upon immigration, victims may be unwilling to report traffickers for fear of deportation. In addition, foreign-born victims may be at greater risk of negative mental health outcomes as their trafficked experience is often compounded by immigration stress. As foreign-born victims come from diverse socio-cultural contexts, their experiences of trauma and psychological distress may differ and be amplified by the intersection of multiple distressing circumstances. To provide the necessary support for victims, stakeholders invested in victim advocacy and care must consider the unique experiences of their clients. Specifically, health professionals could use an ecological framework, which emphasizes the importance of assessment and care at varied and interconnecting ecological levels (i.e. individual, interpersonal, community, and societal). For example, healthcare professionals should focus on understanding the unique identities of their clients at the individual level, help facilitate communication with social supports at the interpersonal level, facilitate victim identification training programs at the community level, and engage in advocacy at the societal level. A recent publication by Salami and colleagues (2021) provides a more detailed discussion of these considerations among foreign-born victims. These recommendations serve as a starting point for providing comprehensive care to foreign-born victims of trafficking. In order to further assist victims, we propose research about human trafficking among foreign- born victims be expanded. To maximize the efficiency and comprehensiveness of service provision, there is a continued need for research on victim identification, validated and effective training programs and tools, and research that can aid the awareness and reduction of mental health stigmatization among foreign-born victims. Cayla S. Hari
Doctoral Student Department of Psychology and Philosophy Sam Houston State University Huntsville, Texas Professor Temilola Salami Assistant Professor Department of Psychology and Philosophy Sam Houston State University Huntsville, Texas
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