sure that people comply with instructions from traffickers without being physically attacked or confined. For example, a young woman may be able to visit shops and be accommodated in another part of town, but nonetheless remains in sexual exploitation because she believes she has a debt that she must pay off. A man may travel voluntarily between work sites to engage in unpaid labour because of the promise that if he does so he will re-pay his debt and thereby secure a better life and wages. The more psychologically vulnerable the person who is trafficked, the easier it is for traffickers to manipulate them. The psychological entrapment of exploitative work People who have been held in any form of forced labour exploitation often describe arduous and exhausting working conditions, and the continuous imposition of physical and/or psychological restrictions. They may be constantly supervised at their places of work and accommodation, (in some cases these are at the same site or at a neighbouring site), and they may become habituated to remaining in the same locations for long periods of time. They may be kept in permanent fear of making mistakes and being reprimanded, and have to perform tasks which are dangerous and carry a substantial risk of injury, for which they lack appropriate training or equipment. In HBF’s clinical experience these factors increase the vulnerability of exploited people to developing significant depression. An Asian man who was trafficked for forced labour in construction Sam worked for 6-7 months without pay as a builder/ labourer on building sites. There were other men from his country of origin who were in the same position. When one job was finished, they were moved to another job. The workers slept six people to a room, all of them on the floor. They were always guarded to ensure that they did not speak to each other or try to run away. Sam was told that if he tried to run away the traffickers would harm his family. The men were controlled by regular beating and kicking, threats and withdrawal of food. If they disobeyed instructions, they were not permitted to eat. 2.2.2 The Psychological Manipulation of Relationships Victims may be emotionally controlled through the manipulation of their personal relationship with the trafficker or with other people who are associated with the trafficker. The power of this influence should not be underestimated; it operates as a form of psychological violence against the victim. “Lover boy” traffickers Some people are lured into a false sense of security by a “lover boy” trafficker20, who becomes their “boyfriend” and then uses this “love” attachment to psychologically manipulate them into obeying instructions. This can operate without the necessity for physical violence and it is extremely psychologically damaging. Victims can suffer confusion about the harm that has been done to them, at times not wanting to believe that the love relationship is not real. They may remain in contact with their “boyfriend” or continue to feel an obligation to “work” for him or provide him with money, for example by re-engaging in on-street prostitution. This level of manipulation can operate within other kinds of relationships, for example in cases where an older woman or man befriends, or becomes a parental figure to a younger person, or a close friendship is cultivated between a trafficker and a victim who are nearly the same age. “Familial” relationships within situations of domestic servitude Young people who are trafficked for domestic servitude may have grown up alongside the children of a family and come to care for them and think of them as familial, despite having been made acutely aware of their own “inferior” position in relation to the family. Traffickers may manipulate these feelings in order to enforce victims’ compliance. For example they may warn victims that if they leave the house, report to the authorities or provide evidence in criminal proceedings against their traffickers, their actions will adversely affect the lives of family members. The need to work for the honour of the family Some people feel a desperate need to work for the honour of their family and to provide for loved ones at home. Traffickers may use this need to coerce or deceive them into being trafficked for exploitation. This frequently involves incurring debt to the trafficker and then being forced to pay it back. 2.2.3 Juju Trafficking HBF clinicians work with victims from West Africa who have suffered “Juju” rituals and been forced to swear oaths imposed upon them by traffickers. 21 In these cases Trafficking in human beings, An Agenda for Change: Implementing the Platform for Action Against Human Trafficking, 2009 Annual Report of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings BBC News - 55