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A trafficked female
Girls are trafficked primarily for forced sex work, while boys are trafficked for street begging and fishing. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Girls are trafficked primarily for forced sex work, while boys are trafficked for street begging and fishing. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA

Quarter of trafficked children have PTSD symptoms – study

This article is more than 8 years old

Authors say findings of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts illustrate need for routine mental health screening of survivors

About one in eight trafficked children have tried to harm or kill themselves in the last month, according to a survey, and a quarter have post-traumatic stress symptoms.

The study, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration, found that one in three suffered physical and/or sexual violence during their trafficking ordeal.

Violence during trafficking was associated with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, the study found, while violence prior to trafficking – reported by one in five interviewed – was a better predictor of PTSD and self-harm.

The authors of the paper, believed to be the largest quantitative survey of child trafficking survivors, said their findings illustrated the need for routine mental health screening of survivors and to understand children’s pre-trafficking experiences.

The lead author, Dr Ligia Kiss, said: “The most shocking data for us was the data on attempts to self-harm and suicide attempts. This number is very, very high, especially because we are talking about events in the month previous to interview.

“The first message we have to look to get out there is providing children in the aftermath of trafficking with specialised mental health care so they feel well equipped to deal with such problems.”

Estimates suggest that, globally, 5.7 million boys and girls are in situations of forced or bonded labour, 1.2 million are trafficked and approximately 1.8 million are being exploited in the sex industry.

The study, published online in Jama (Journal of American Medical Association) Pediatrics on Tuesday, involved 387 children aged 10 to 17 in post-trafficking services in Cambodia, Thailand or Vietnam.

Girls had been trafficked primarily for forced sex work (63%), while boys had most commonly been trafficked for street begging (29%) and fishing (19%). More than half of the survivors (56%) screened positive for depression, and a third did so for an anxiety disorder.

Kiss said the impact of pre-trafficking violence was high because the family was the institution in which children invested the most trust, “and when they have lost that the impact is very big”.

Despite many having suffered abuse at the hands of their family – just over half who reported pre-trafficking violence identified a family member or intimate partner as the perpetrator – 59% of all survivors interviewed said going home to them was their best hope for the future. Other common best hopes were having a job (57%), money (38%) or a family (29%). One in 20 children said they had no hope.

Chloe Setter, head of advocacy at Ecpat UK, a charity working to end child trafficking, said: “Our experience of working with children trafficked to the UK from across the world, including Vietnam and China, has shown us that it takes most young people many years to recover and rebuild their lives.

“The physical and emotional impact can often appear invisible but manifests itself in various ways, including memory loss, difficulty concentrating, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, flashbacks, attachment issues, difficulty sleeping, PTSD, as well as many other enduring physical and mental health conditions.

“Children are incredibly resilient but, without intensive and long-term support to overcome the abuse they’ve suffered, there can be lifelong damage. States must ensure there is access to proper rehabilitation and protection services for young victims. Without this – and access to a credible alternative for young people and their families, such as education or training – children in particular are at a high risk of being retrafficked into a cycle of abuse.”

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