Reintegration of trafficked persons is a complex process, involving a range of services and interventions over the short and longer term. The standard package of reintegration services does not always or entirely meet the needs of all trafficked persons. Specialized reintegration services are needed for beneficiaries with more complex and “difficult” assistance needs. In some cases, more complex needs are a direct consequence of the trafficking experience – for example, becoming pregnant while trafficked, suffering injuries that require medical care and being severely traumatized as a result of trafficking. In other cases, these factors and characteristics preceded trafficking and may have contributed to the person’s vulnerability to trafficking – for example, persons with dependent family members, persons with disabilities, persons with past experiences of violence and social marginalization and persons with no family/social network. This paper explores “difficult” cases among trafficking victims in South-East Europe (SEE), including the ways in which these more complex needs are (and are not) being met within the existing reintegration framework in SEE and strategies for handling “difficult” cases.
