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The forensic assessment of human trafficking víctims in Catalonia (Spain): characteristics and mental health status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2024

A. Bertomeu ,
E. Cano ,
A. Mateu ,
A. Xifró  and
E. Barbería
A. Bertomeu
Affiliation:
1Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya
E. Cano*
Affiliation:
1Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya
A. Mateu
Affiliation:
1Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya
A. Xifró
Affiliation:
1Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya 2Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona
E. Barbería
Affiliation:
1Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya 3Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Systematic reviews show a high prevalence of mental distress among victims of human trafficking. In criminal proceedings in Spain, a forensic expert assessment of survivors may be ordered by the courts. Its aims are mainly, albeit not exclusively, to determine the consequences of trafficking on the physical, mental, and social health of the victims. The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences is the public institution providing psychiatric expert assessments in the autonomous region of Catalonia (Spain). Recently, a unit devoted to the forensic assessment of human trafficking victims has been created at the central headquarters of the Institute in Barcelona.

Objectives

To describe the characteristics and the mental health status of trafficked people identified as victims in criminal proceedings.

Methods

Retrospective study of case records of victims of human trafficking at the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia (2016-2023).

Results

Case records of 50 survivors were identified. 38 (76%) were female; mean age was 30,5 years (SD 10,42; range 17 to 69 years). All of them were foreigners, mainly from Latin America (24; 48%). Most of them were trafficked for sexual exploitation (32; 64%). 11 (22%) were assessed immediately after their rescue (emerging cases). Some of the victims had previous mental health problems, including intellectual disability (3; 6%). Among the non-emerging cases, the most frequently recorded mental disorders at the moment of the psychiatric expert assessment were post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 21; 53,8%) and anxiety (12; 30,8%). Complex PTSD was observed in 1 case.

Conclusions

The majority of human trafficking survivors in the forensic setting suffer from persistent mental health problems as a consequence of their victimisation. A trauma-informed forensic psychiatric assessment is recommended.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 67 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 32nd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2024 , pp. S156
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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