Page 115 - GHES-3-1

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Human trafficking victim service providers

Table 1. Types of services provided by the institutions frequently reported obstacle was a lack of economic
resources. As Participant 25 explained, “[The] lack of
Services provided Total (n=21) economic resources” prevents institutions from offering
Meals 18 necessary support because of insufficient resources. Some
Legal support 18 participants also highlighted that a key barrier is the absence
Reintegration in the community 18 of coordination between service providers and other
Professional reintegration 18 organizations essential for establishing the support victims
Essentials 17 require. In addition, there is a lack of cooperation from
Physical health (nurse and doctor) 17 the victims, compounding these challenges. As Participant
Mental health (psychologist/psychiatrist) 17 26 noted, there is a “lack of interinstitutional connections
to allow rapid process execution. Closer associations
Educational support 17 with training and employment entities that allow a quick
Accommodation 16 resolution of the life project,” while Participant 6 remarked
Translator 16 on the “lack of cooperation of the victim.”
Assisted return 15 Participants also pointed out the absence of,
Nursery 8 or inadequate planning for, housing, shelter, and
accommodation for victims. There was a concern about
in their assistance process, the clarity of the assistance the safety of both the victims and service providers, as
procedures, and the interdisciplinary collaboration with well as the ability to provide adequate responses despite
other organizations (e.g., courts and employment centers). the existence of a nationwide network to assist male and
female victims of HT. As Participant 6 explained, “the
3.4. Barriers to help-seeking difficulty of addressing basic needs and providing safe
Nineteen service providers stated that the primary reasons accommodation” remains a significant challenge.
victims are often unable to seek help are the fear of the Cultural aspects were also identified as barriers to
trafficker and reprisals against themselves or their families. providing support to HT victims. These could manifest
The lack of social support and confidence in the support at both linguistic and deeper spiritual or social levels.
system were identified as the least significant barriers by Participant 9 highlighted “language and cultural barriers
service providers. Figure 1 depicts the obstacles to victims and the bureaucracy of certain processes that delay their
seeking aid. integration into society.” The participants identified several
3.5. Victims’ needs challenges that substantially affect the delivery of support,
including language and cultural barriers, concerns about
Service providers ranked the victims’ primary needs as victims’ safety, a lack of confidence in the police, and
follows: first, a sense of security (including economic ignorance among the general public and service providers.
independence and a place to stay); second, access to physical As previously mentioned, the victim’s lack of security
health care; and third, knowing their rights as immigrants. inhibits cooperation with organizations and institutions,
The least recognized needs were access to information/ whether judicial or support-related. As Participant 12 noted,
prevention campaigns, followed by educational support there is a need “to transmit security and help overcome
and access to education. Figure 2 graphically illustrates the the fear that victims feel during the whole process,” while
prioritization of these needs in a pyramid. Participant 10 pointed to the “lack of information on the
The frequently identified theme when analyzing part of the population in general, and the service providers
component (v) of the instrument was “barriers to providing and criminal police bodies themselves.” Working with
support,” followed by “similarities and differences in victims of this crime is made more challenging by the
providing support to HT victims versus victims of other victims’ ignorance of their rights, the general public’s, and
crimes.” The “condition of special vulnerability” theme, even the police’s lack of information.
which focuses primarily on the structural and individual
vulnerabilities of the victims, appeared more tangential in 3.7. Similarities and differences between trafficking
the discussions. These themes are presented in Table 3. victims and victims of other crimes)
Participants noted some similarities between the issues
3.6. Barriers to providing support faced by victims of domestic violence and those of HT.
In analyzing the barriers to providing services, aside However, they also identified several key distinctions.
from those related to differences in treatment, the most One major difference is that victims of trafficking may be

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 107 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3215