Social Service Providers’ Understanding of the Consequences of Human Trafficking on Women Survivors—A South African Perspective

Sipho Sibanda (), Juliet Sambo and Sanjeev Dahal
Additional contact information
Sipho Sibanda: Department of Social Work and Social Policy, School of Allied Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Juliet Sambo: Department of Social Work and Criminology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
Sanjeev Dahal: Department of Social Work and Social Policy, School of Allied Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Human trafficking for forced labour or sexual exploitation often takes the form of forced migration. It is the third-largest crime industry in the world and has severe consequences on the women survivors. Trafficking violates the safety, welfare, and human rights of the victims and forces physical and psychological imprisonment on them. Despite the significant number of women being trafficked, little is known about the best ways to address their needs. This article highlights the understanding developed by social service providers in South Africa regarding the consequences of human trafficking on women survivors. Being aware of the complex challenges faced by women survivors of human trafficking enables social service providers to respond to their needs effectively through appropriate interventions and services. Data for this qualitative study were collected through one-on-one interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Social service providers understand the following to be related to women survivors of trafficking: involvement in drugs and sex work, dependency on the perpetrator, lack of self-esteem, self-blame and shame, being disoriented, psychological challenges, lack of financial support, health issues, isolation, and loneliness. To be relevant and effective, services should be packaged in a manner that addresses all the challenges faced by women survivors of human trafficking.

Keywords: forced migrants; human trafficking; intervention research; social service providers; women survivors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/5/298/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/5/298/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:5:p:298-:d:1654041

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().