The NGO Fiet warns that over 60% of women in prostitution have mental health disorders: “We cannot remain indifferent”. Fiet rescued over 1,500 women in 2024.
Photo: [link]Vitaly Gariev[/link], Unsplash CC0.
The 23rd of September marks the International Day Against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Women and Children, a serious global scourge.
On this occasion, the NGO Fiet, which works to rescue women who are victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, held a press conference, which included the presentation of its short documentary La realidad de la trata en nuestro entorno (The Reality of Human Trafficking in Our Midst).
The documentary “provides a human, critical and necessary insight into the emotional, psychological and social impact endured by many women trapped in exploitation networks, through real testimonies”.
In addition to the screening of the documentary, Fiet's main goal for this event was to raise awareness of the urgent need to integrate mental health into public policy and to provide specialised care for this group from both public and private institutions.
“Women who manage to escape exploitation often arrive with serious emotional disorders”, says the psychological care team at Fiet. These include “insomnia, anxiety, self-esteem problems, trust issues, dissociation, and a feeling of not being worthy of respectful treatment”.
The study, Mental health: The invisible consequences of human trafficking warns of a 20% increase in severe mental health cases among women receiving treatment.
Vall d'Hebron University hospital in Barcelona reports that over 60% of women in prostitution have a mental health disorder such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
Furthermore, a study by the Faculty of Psychology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca shows that 68% of women in prostitution suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, exceeding even the rates recorded among Vietnam war veterans.
According to Fiet, “the saturation of mental health services is one of the main barriers to receiving adequate care”, because specific psychological care for victims of human trafficking is not currently guaranteed by the Spanish public health system.
The three main pillars of the organisation's work are awareness and training, detection, and comprehensive care.
Thanks to this work, the NGO rescued 1,566 women of 34 different nationalities in 2024, mainly from Latin America, and took in 41 women and five minors into its homes.
Moreover, the number of women rescued by the state security forces over the last year increased by 22% compared to 2023.
Although Spain is the third largest consumer of prostitution in the world and the leading country in the European Union for the transit and destination of women who are trafficked for sexual exploitation, “sexual slavery remains very invisible”, said Fiona Bellshaw, founder and director of institutional relations of Fiet, at the press conference.
The psychological care team at Fiet states that the first moments after leaving an exploitation network are critical, as the woman finds herself “in a situation of extreme vulnerability”.
While some women know that they will be working as prostitutes temporarily, they are unaware “that they will have to be available 24 hours a day in a windowless room with four bunk beds, paying €200 a month for one of them”, said Bellshaw.
“The effects on women are devastating. They lose their identity, their sense of who they are and what they want in life”, pointed out the Fiet director of institutional relations.
In this context, “psychosocial support (social work, legal advice and community support) is key, along with psychological therapy”.
Bellshaw explained that one of Fiet's greatest frustrations is that, “when they recover and are excited about life again, they encounter many administrative difficulties”.
Among the most common issues are the long waiting periods to obtain documentation, and the difficulty of finding employment or housing.
“They fight and dedicate so much to their recovery, to moving forward, and they want to believe that there is a fair and supportive society, but often that is not the case,” she added.
Another major problem is that criminal organisations “tend to target young women with children because they are in greater need than those who are not mothers”.
"Children are also victims of the situation their mothers have experienced. Unfortunately, some of them have also been sexually abused or have witnessed scenes that no child should ever have to see”, said Bellshaw.
That is why Fiet works to create a bond between the mother and the child during the recovery process for victims of trafficking, taking into account that during their exploitation “they have not been able to focus on being mothers”. “It is essential that she, who has lost everything, does not also lose her children”.
Bellshaw pointed out that Fiet has an abolitionist position on prostitution and believes that “every woman in prostitution should have support, such as a minimum living wage, access to healthcare, etc.”
“There are thousands of women trapped in flats, villas, and clubs. Many live in complete isolation, without support or protection. In addition to leaving their homes behind, they carry the burden of migratory grief and the trauma of sexual exploitation. We cannot be indifferent. No body should be for sale”, concluded the organisation.
[photo_footer] "Freedom and hope: May your hands be the wings of freedom” is the motto of one of the Fiet campaigns. / Fiet [/photo_footer]
Fiet was founded in 2009 with a strong commitment to fight human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Through its Rescuing and Restoring programme, it provides victims with psychological, health and legal support, as well as education, training, job placement, maternal education, integration, recreational and leisure activities, accommodation, and 24-hour care.
It works in five regions: Madrid, Galicia, the Basque Country, Valencia and Melilla.
Fiet also runs international cooperation projects in West Africa and Southeast Asia. In 2019, it founded the first solidarity law firm in southern Europe.
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