Overcoming barriers to services for domestic adult female sex trafficking victims in Georgia

Occupational Therapy’s Role in Assisting with Community Reintegration for Survivors of Human Trafficking

“…The trauma of the victims include freedom rape, threats, beatings, malnutrition, unsanitary environment and contact, lack of medical care, infections, abortions, isolation, being controlled (lack of autonomy), kicked, shot by guns, stabbed by knives, slammed against the wall, burned, hit, punched, pulled by the hair, and other types of injury (Gorman & Hatkevich, 2016;Sukach et al, 2018). Studies show that the survivors faced unforgettable trauma that requires trauma-informed care by the specialists that they work with during recovery, including emotional support, counseling, shelter-housing, food, and transportation (Egger, 2017;Harriot, 2017). Trauma causes the brain to become overwhelmed and can significantly impair a person's cognitive processing and working memory as it is a part of the body's emotional center.…”