Trafficking survivors face PTSD and reintegration challenges. Sport for Development programs improve psychological outcomes and moderately support reintegration.
Trafficking survivors are often subjected to complex and multiple traumas leading to adverse psychological symptoms such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, challenges to reintegration into society and connection with family, and poor livelihood outcomes.
Sport for Development (SfD) programs are popular and receive hundreds of millions of dollars annually in funding. This study conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) in order to examine whether and how sports for development programming can be used effectively to provide trauma-informed care to trafficking survivors to address negative psychological, social reintegration, and livelihoods outcomes.
Despite SfD’s popularity, we did not find existing research on SfD programs specifically for trafficking survivors with the exception of a pilot study on a yoga program for trafficking survivors in Uganda (Namy et al., 2022). We thus expanded the list of eligible research papers to include those studying trauma survivors that face comparable types of traumas as trafficking survivors.
After screening 7,230 studies, we identified seven additional papers (bringing the total to eight studies) which provided relevant evidence for the effects of sports programming on survivors of trafficking. Based on these studies, we found compelling evidence that these Sport for Development programs improved psychological outcomes for survivors of trauma and moderate evidence supporting improved reintegration outcomes. There was no evidence for or against the effectiveness of these programs on survivor livelihoods outcomes.
The literature also provided important insights into the mechanisms by which these SfD programs work.
Socialization with other people, the motivational and distraction effects of exercise, and the physical component of sport itself all appear to be essential elements of SfD. Organizations interested in implementing their own programs should carefully match their target population’s needs with the type of sports program and any complementary programming.
The use of SfD programs for trafficking survivors can complement the 4Ps Framework - Prosecution, Protection, Prevention and Partnerships - of CTIP projects in several ways. While the most obvious link is Protection, there are also potential connections to Prevention and Partnerships.
Activity