Psychological Effects Of Human Trafficking Essay

Human trafficking as a rapid-growing crime has become the third largest and most profitable criminal business in the world, following drugs and arms smuggling (Anderson, 2015). Trafficking does not only involve the illicit transportation of persons from place to place, but also the ways by which they are recruited and treated upon destinations. In most cases, the trafficked victims are lured, deceived or coerced for sexual or labor exploitation, though there can be other purposes such as organ harvest, forced marriage and child soldier recruitment. According to the U.S. Department of State (2012), the estimated number of victims around the world had reached 27 million, including men, women and children. There are thousands of people being trafficked

Department of State, 2012). As trafficked persons are brutalized and commodified, without support and care from their families or loved ones, without freedom, their dignity and security are usually in ruins. Many of them are found to suffer from trauma and the ones who want to relieve stress, anxiety and pain may turn out to be dependent on drugs or alcohol (O’Brien, Carpenter & Hayes, 2013). The harmful psychological impacts can be permanent throughout one’s life that is possibly ended by suicide. This is particularly true for the children being trafficked when they are still in the process of mental development. Even though some victims may be rescued from their predators and recover from physical injuries, they may still live under shadow. For those who are sold by their families or deceived by their friends, it would be difficult to believe in someone else any more after the dreadful experience of being trafficked. “Trust is a word that victims of human trafficking may easily forget” (Sheikholeslami, 2011). With an absence of an element of trust, loneliness and insecurity will be sustained, and the victims may not allow social workers or psychologists to help, making the rehabilitation more