The Gender and Violence Center of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine recently published “Stolen Smiles:  The Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Women and Adolescents Trafficked in Europe,” a study of 207 sexually trafficked women. Most participants interviewed were from Moldova and Ukraine. Physical health, experiences before and during trafficking, and mental health were examined. According to the study, over half of the trafficked women reported between twelve and twenty-three concurrent physical health symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, dizzy spells, and physical pain. Researchers found that a majority of trafficked women experienced physical or sexual violence before being trafficked, and ninety-five percent of trafficked women experienced sexual and physical violence while being trafficked. Over sixty percent of the participants demonstrated memory loss. The study uncovered that over half of the trafficked women exhibited symptom levels suggestive of posttraumatic stress disorder; the women displayed depression, anxiety, and hostility levels exceptionally higher than norms for adult females. Ninety-five percent of the trafficked women reported feeling depressed. The major recommendations of the study are that firstly, sexual trafficking affects both physical and mental health and also that trafficked women should receive support services for at least ninety days after entering the supportive network, since that practice seems to improve both physical and mental health.

Compiled from: “Stolen Smiles: The Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Women and Adolescents Trafficked in Europe;” Zimmerman, Cathy, Mazeda Hossain, Kate Yun, Brenda Roche, Linda Morison, & Charlotte Watts; The Gender and Violence Center of The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 2006.