The health needs and healthcare experiences of young people trafficked into the UK

Young people who have been trafficked may have experienced significant trauma and violence but little is known about their health and healthcare needs. This UK study aimed to address that gap. It included a health survey and qualitative interviews with 29 young people aged 16–21 trafficked into the UK from other countries who were recruited through voluntary organisations and children’s social services. These data were supplemented by interviews with relevant professionals. Over half the young people had been trafficked for sex work but sexual violence had also been experienced by those trafficked for domestic servitude and labour exploitation. Physical violence, threats, restrictions of liberty and deprivation were also widespread, as were experiences of physical and sexual violence prior to being trafficked. Five young women had become pregnant whilst trafficked; three were parents when interviewed. Two-thirds screened positive for high levels of psychological distress, including PTSD. Twelve reported suicidal thinking. Whilst some were keen for opportunities to talk to health professionals confidentially and wanted practitioners to treat their accounts as credible, others wanted to forget abusive experiences. Complex gatekeeping systems, language barriers and practitioners who failed to take them seriously limited access to healthcare. Support and advocacy were helpful in assisting these young people to navigate healthcare systems. Health professionals need to recognise and respond appropriately to trafficked young people’s often complex mental health needs and refer them to relevant services, as well as facilitating care at later times when they might need support or be more ready to receive help

The Naked Subject: Nudity, Context and Sexualization in Contemporary Culture

This article examines the ways in which contemporary western cultures have attempted to legitimize certain sites of bodily nakedness (such as communal showers, bathing children and other `public' displays) by maintaining a contextual space or frame which attempts to exclude the sexual. Noting the ways in which that legitimacy has broken down in recent decades, the article suggests that the slippage between the sexual and the naked results from both a breakdown in the `heterosexual matrix' as well as a postmodern crisis of `the context'

Violence and alternative care: a rapid review of the evidence

This article gives an overview of the international literature pertaining to the nature and impact of violence against children who are accommodated within alternative care provision

Scoping response system management of alcohol's harm to others in lower middle income countries

AIMS - As part of the WHO Harm from others' drinking project, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Chile, Nigeria and Vietnam undertook scoping studies to examine: which service agencies in low and middle income countries responded to people affected by others' drinking; how commonly key informants from these agencies indicated alcohol was part of the problems they managed; and whether any routine reporting systems collected information on alcohol's harm to others (AHTO) and the types and examples of harms experienced across the six countries. METHODS - Researchers synthetised within country peer-review literature, reports, news and agency website information. Additionally, researchers interviewed key informants to investigate current structures, functions and practices of service agencies, and in particular their recording practices surrounding cases involving others' drinking. RESULTS - 111 key informants agreed to participate from 91 purposively selected agencies from health, social protection, justice and police, and 'other' sectors. National and provincial level data, as well as state-run and civil society agency data were collected. Diverse service response systems managed AHTO in the different countries. A large range in the percentage of all cases attributed to AHTO was identified. Case story examples from each country illustrate the different responses to, and the nature of, many severe problems experienced because of others' drinking. CONCLUSIONS - AHTO was a major issue for service systems in LMIC, and significantly contributed to their workload, yet, very few recording systems routinely collected AHTO data. Recommendations are outlined to improve AHTO data collection across multiple sectors and enable LMIC to better identify and respond to AHTO