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Table 1 Needs for services in a Dutch shelter for adults of non-Dutch nationality who were trafficked and descriptions of those services

From: The recovery experience of people who were sex trafficked: the thwarted journey towards goal pursuit

Services that are needed in a shelter for adults of non-Dutch nationality who were trafficked

Descriptions of services

Physical health care

Care that is provided when trafficked people experience physical health problems. This care can be provided by social care workers in the shelter or by a GP that is affiliated with the shelter. Trafficked people may be offered screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis.

Mental health care

Care that is provided when trafficked people experience mental health problems. This care can be provided by social care workers in the shelter. Additionally, mental health care may be offered via mental health care institutions.

Safety

This service consists of advice to trafficked persons on how to increase safety, ensuring security at the shelter itself, accompanying them to places if necessary, and assisting them in contact with the police if necessary.

Emergency shelter

Providing shelter is the main function of a shelter, offering sleeping quarters and communal areas that are arranged in varying manners.

Longer-term housing

This service consists of helping trafficked persons with looking for a different place to live after they have to leave the shelter and wish to remain in the country where the shelter is located.

Legal assistance

Trafficked people should receive legal assistance. This may be offered in the form of basic advice by social care workers in the shelter. They may also be referred to a counsellor for more advanced legal assistance. Assistance may include help with acquiring residency status, representation of the service user in the trafficker’s criminal case, and other matters such as acquiring financial compensation from the government.

Translation

Translation services should be freely available to the shelter, financed by the government.

Daytime activities

A range of day activities may be offered at the shelter. The nature of activities may differ by shelter, but can include cultural orientation, language training, occupational skills training and arts classes.

Help with education / employment

This may differ by shelter but can include occupational skills training, advice on possibilities for (voluntary) employment during stay at the shelter, help with finding education, help with finding longer-term employment, and referral to organizations that assist people in finding employment.

Financial and administrative assistance

Services may include help with getting subsidies and social benefits, help with filling out papers and forms, advice on how to get by with little money, and help with debts.

Empowerment

Key to services that aim to empower people is that they are founded on people’s strengths. The central goal of empowerment is that trafficked persons (re) gain control over their own life and their surroundings, so that full participation in society can be achieved.

Self-maintenance and -care

Helping people take care of themselves. Services can include help with cooking, grocery shopping, and laundry.

Child care

Services may differ by shelter but can include helping people with taking care of their children, advising on possibilities for helping children, helping to establish contact with relevant agencies, and contacting the relevant agencies when there are worries about the parent(s) to be able to care for their child.

Social contacts

Help with establishing rewarding and fruitful social contacts (including family and friends but also others such as care providers or colleagues). Services may include advice on ways to get to know other people, advice on discussing problems with people, learning how to say no, and learning how to ask for support.

  1. This framework was developed by combining frameworks from international research on the service needs of trafficked persons with frameworks for service provision by Dutch shelters to comparable groups [1, 3, 60, 61, 78,79,80]