HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF SEX TRAFFICKING
trafficked either because the substances were forced on them as a control
mechanism by their traffickers38 or because substance use was a means of
coping with the immense abuse they suffered. 84.3% used alcohol, drugs,
or both during their captivity and more than a quarter ( 27.9%) said that
forced substance use was a part of their trafficking experience. More than a
quarter of victims reported injected drugs and overdoses ( 27.2% and 26.0%
respectively). As the following table indicates, alcohol, marijuana, and
cocaine were the most common substances but others were prevalent as
well.
Table 5. Substance Abuse in Sex Trafficking
Substance Reporting Usage (N= 102)
Substance Abuse 84.3%
Alcohol 59.8%
Marijuana 53.4%
Cocaine 50.5%
Crack Cocaine 44.7%
Heroin 22.3%
Ecstasy 13.6%
PCP 9.7%
Overwhelmingly, survivors were the objects of repeated and extreme
violence and were frequently driven to substance abuse either by force or by
their dire circumstances.
IV. CRITICAL ISSUES IN PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE FOR
VICTIMS OF SEX TRAFFICKING
During the time I was on the street, I went to hospitals, urgent care
clinics, women’s health clinics, and private doctors. No one ever asked
me anything anytime I ever went to a clinic. . . . I was on birth control
during the 10 years I was on the streets—mostly Depo-Provera shots
which I got at the Planned Parenthood and other neighborhood clinics. I
also got the morning-after pill from them. I was young and so I had to
38. For instance, one survivor described how her pimp, “gave us drugs to keep us under
his thumb.”
