A commonly overlooked group of victims of human trafficking are children who are born from and into trafficking situations. Some children are born to mothers trafficked for sexual exploitation (fathered by a trafficker or client); others are born to trafficked mothers who were bought by a “husband.” These children are exposed, from birth, to the violence and violations that constitute human trafficking and are deprived of basic needs for their physical and mental development. Moreover, they witness the on-going abuse and exploitation of their mothers. They are also exposed to a range of challenges and complications when they leave trafficking and make their way “home” with their mothers. To date, little attention has been paid to these children in research or in programmatic or policy responses. Yet these children face serious challenges, not only while living in exploitative situations, but also after trafficking, when they return “home” and integrate into their mothers’ families, communities and countries. Equally, service providers face a range of constraints in effectively supporting the safety, well-being and long term integration of these children. This paper focuses on the tensions, complications, and challenges that children born of trafficking and their mothers face in the integration process and how these inhibit their successful and sustainable (re)integration. Drawing on interviews with trafficked persons and anti-trafficking professionals from Southeastern Europe (SEE), this article discusses four levels at which integration takes place: 1) in the child’s relations with the trafficked mother; 2) in family relationships; 3) in community interactions; and 4) in the formal society into which they integrate. The article explores challenges as well as possible opportunities for integration of children born of trafficking. An enhanced understanding is needed about the particular challenges that these children and their mothers face after trafficking to effectively and appropriately support the inclusion of these children into their families, communities, and countries and to ensure their access to the rights and opportunities that they are entitled to and which are vital for their healthy development. Greater focus is also needed on children born of trafficking in their own right, in terms of their own specific needs and victim status, rather than being treated as attached or appendices of their trafficked mothers.
Access This Resource
