The Consequences of Child Trafficking on the Psychosocial Well-Being of Internally Trafficked Children: The Case of Children at Hope for Justice

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Date

2022-12-01

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

Children were being trafficked both within Ethiopia and abroad. The contemporary situation shows that the number of children trafficked within their country has been increasing than the previous times. As a result, many children have become vulnerable to exploitation which negatively impacted their psychosocial well-being. The study's goal is to assess the psychosocial effects of trafficking on internally trafficked children who are receiving service at Hope for Justice Ethiopia. The research used a qualitative design specifically descriptive case study. The data gathering tools used were focus group discussions, observation, and interview as primary sources of data. Document review was also used as a secondary source in the research. All the children who had a trafficking history and receiving service at Hope for Justice were selected with purposive sampling technique. The findings show that children are mostly brought to the city by their relatives and placed in exploitative work. During their exploitation, these children faced physical, psychological, emotional and sexual abuse which resulted in depression, anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, low self-esteem, feelings of shame or guilt and eating disorders. Isolation, fighting, lack of trust and school dropout were also consequences of trafficking on these children. Therefore, the study implies to create more attention on the consequences of the abuses that these children experienced after being trafficked.

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Keywords

Children, trafficked children

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