Clinical notes on an African man trafficked by a paedophile network as a child “The man took me to a very strange, scary place. I wasn’t the only one there. Soon after arriving in a forest, my legs were held forcibly by some men and they made me drink, I was confused. I think the confusion was magic, like a ‘sham’, a drug that takes your senses.” Toby recalls not being able to see properly and soon found that he was sleepy, he thought he was dying. “I wanted to shout but couldn’t hear my own voice.” He has no memory after that. When he woke up he was in a small room with the window blocked out. “What they gave me turned me into a different person. I believe I was sold.” Clinical notes on a woman who was trafficked for sexual exploitation as a child The traffickers gave Halima raw meat to eat and a liquid to drink and said that she would die if she ever gave anyone information about them. They made her take a “covenant” and take part in a Juju ceremony. During the first few days she was told about the work she would be doing. She only felt able to disclose this after three months in therapy. She is very afraid of the Juju and feels that this is the reason for her sleepless nights, panic attacks and flashbacks. She continues to believe that she is destined to die because she has disobeyed the Juju. At night, in moments of great terror, she believes that there are spirits in her room. She has nightmares of being raped, of dead people, of snakes, and of people watching her. She feels as if people are running behind her and bad spirits are trying to get her. She is concerned that her behaviour has changed since she started telling people about the “covenant” and that it is killing her. She also feels internal movements and pains with “things moving around”. She believes that this is a result of the Juju. 4.3 Pre-existing Vulnerability of Victims Clinicians find that many trafficking survivors have suffered additional and cumulative trauma from trafficking. From a clinical perspective, a full understanding of the cumulative implications of pre-trafficking vulnerability, together with the impact of the trafficking experience itself is crucial in developing appropriate strategies for rehabilitation. Victims may also suffer from a range of mental health difficulties which make them vulnerable.50 They are often highly susceptible to being re-trafficked or subjected to further harm and some have been trafficked several times before coming to HBF’s attention. Childhood background of a man who was later trafficked for forced labour in construction work Tan had a history of mental illness and suffered neglect because his mother was also mentally ill. As a young child he had to rely upon neighbours for food as his mother was frequently away, and they became increasingly reluctant to help him. His father died before his teens and he was bullied so badly at school that he left. He has injuries from being beaten as a child, including cuts and deep scarring. People may already have suffered traumatic experiences and various forms of interpersonal violence prior to being trafficked, during their early childhood or adolescent years. Many (though not all) victims have histories of poverty, deprivation and adversity. For example they may have experienced destitution, extreme hunger, long-term domestic or collective violence and/or various forms of exploitation prior to their trafficking experience. Some victims of trafficking who are referred to HBF have backgrounds of sexual exploitation or domestic servitude in their countries of origin. In such cases traffickers can easily force them to adapt to further subjugation and control. Childhood background of an African man trafficked for domestic servitude At age nine Jack worked doing domestic chores for a family. He had to start at 4 a.m., collecting garbage and running errands for the servants of the family. He slept on the floor with others. He could not eat until everyone else had eaten and his work was completed, then he was given leftovers to eat. He was beaten with a whip, belts and a cane and had chilli powder rubbed into his eyes as a punishment. He was beaten up for “not getting up on time, Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 69