Survivors After The “Rescue”
When regular media and news outlets cover stories that involve human trafficking, they typically share a story that sounds something like this: "A villain has kidnapped people and is holding them in his basement for sex. Someone tipped off the police, the SWAT team completed a sting operation, and rescued all of the victims! They're safe now. The End!" This story is horrifying, thought provoking, wrapped up in a nice little bow, and, unfortunately, far from the truth.
To be fair, the first part of the story isn't complete fiction. People are kidnapped and held in horrible situations, and there are police operations that liberate those people. To pretend that the needs of a survivor end when they leave their trafficking situation, however, is to neglect those survivors.
After leaving their trafficking situation, here are some of the difficulties that survivors may face:
Economic instability: This is likely what made someone vulnerable to traffickers in the first place, and it doesn't just disappear as soon as they leave. Finding stable employment with livable wages is hard enough without including trauma into the mix.
Stigma: The stigma that comes with being a survivor of human trafficking is pervasive. Survivors can experience shame, isolation, and even people questioning their moral character.
Legal assistance: Being trafficked can also lead to contact with the criminal justice system. For example, people who are in sex trafficking situations can be charged with prostitution, even though they are actually the victims in that situation. Taking care of these legal issues can be a vital step in helping survivors build their futures.
Life Skills: If someone has been in a trafficking situation for a long time, they may need to brush up on some basic life skills that they didn’t use or may not have even learned while they were being trafficked.
These are just a few examples of the long-term needs that human trafficking survivors may have. Their journey goes far beyond leaving their trafficking situation and it is our job as advocates to make sure they don't go through that journey alone.