Significance of the study
It is important to study the psychological treatments that Nigerian sex trafficking survivors enjoy because sex trafficking inflicts deep psychological harm on the victims. The study will be beneficial to the law enforcement agencies that rescue survivors and link them to treatment services. Rehabilitation centers are potential beneficiaries as they can tailor their programs and approaches to address treatment gaps.
Many traffickers control their victims using extreme measures of domination and control such as beatings, murder threats, rapes, abuse, insults, starvation, and gang rapes. Studying this topic reveals whether stakeholders are doing enough to address the psychological plight of sex trafficking survivors from Nigeria which has high levels of sex trafficking.
How to study the population
The study will be conducted by enlisting psychologists and sex trafficking survivors as the respondents. 15 survivors will be interviewed in one-on-one sessions with the researcher due to the sensitive nature of their conditions and the need to extract credible information from them. Five psychologists who have interacted with sex trafficking victims will be sourced through referrals from the survivors themselves as well as other stakeholders such as NGOs against human trafficking. The selected psychologists will be surveyed by sending them emails bearing a questionnaire.
Research questions
What are the lived experiences of the sex trafficking survivors?
Are there enough psychologists ready and competent enough to handle sex trafficking survivors in Nigeria?
How many sex trafficking survivors access psychological treatment and what are the rates of full treatment and recovery?
How is the affordability of the psychology treatment services?
What proactive measures are the responsible stakeholders taking to prevent survivors from relapsing into some psychological issues such as suicidal ideation?
Research purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate on the quality of psychological treatment and thereafter the life that sex trafficking survivors from Nigeria enjoy. The research is targeted at identifying gaps in psychological treatment such that psychologists, law enforcers, government agencies, the media, social welfare and researchers can each play their role in reintegrating survivors back to a thriving life devoid of psychological issues. As such, the topic under study is important to help psychologists handle sex trafficking survivors from a wholesome angle and deal with a wide variety psychological conditions.
Purpose statement
The study will evaluate the effectiveness of the current psychological treatments being accorded to sex trafficking survivors with a view to improving responses from various stakeholders.
Problem statement
Human trafficking in Nigeria has reached crisis levels. A report by the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) states that about 80% of the Nigerian women who are trafficked through Libya into Italy and other European countries end up into forced prostitution. For instance, 3,600 Nigerian women were trafficked into Europe for prostitution in the first half of 2016. Many of these women manage to escape and find their way to safe havens in Europe and back home. The huge numbers of survivors suffer a myriad of psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and panic disorders. These psychological disorders can have very adverse effects on their lives such as death, high rates of suicide, diminished productivity and drug abuse among others. The facts that many survivors remain unnoticed, uncared for and are at times blamed for their predicament means that their psychological needs and treatments need to be fully addressed.
References
BBC. (2016, January 27). The world of Nigeria's sex-trafficking 'Air Lords'. Retrieved January 25, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35244148
Calvo, K. (2014). The Psychological Effects of Human Trafficking on the second generation. . Retrieved January 25, 2017, from http://www.mensenhandelweb.nl/system/files/documents/14%20Sep%202015/thesis%20psychological%20effects%20of%20HT%20on%20the%20second%20generation.pdf
Kaylor, L. (2015). Psychological Impact of Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery Worldwide: Empowerment and Intervention. Retrieved January 25, 2017, from https://www.apa.org/international/pi/2015/09/leah-kaylor.pdf
Kelly, A., & Tondo, L. (2016, August 8). Trafficking of Nigerian women into prostitution in Europe 'at crisis level'. Retrieved January 25, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/08/trafficking-of-nigerian-women-into-prostitution-in-europe-at-crisis-level
