May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to shine light on struggles that too often stay in the dark. For people who have survived sex trafficking, trauma is not a chapter that closes when exploitation ends; it can echo through every relationship, paycheck, and sleepless night. At REST, we walk that road with survivors, offering freedom, safety, hope—and mental‑health care.
The Numbers Behind the Pain
PTSD affects one in three survivors. A 2024 systematic review of 17 studies (4,738 participants) found a median PTSD prevalence of 32.6 % among trafficking survivors. (UTC Scholar)
Depression mirrors PTSD. In a U.S. study of sex‑ and labor‑trafficking survivors, 71 % screened positive for depression and 61 % for PTSD. (PubMed)
Risk rivals or exceeds combat. Within the Veterans Health Administration, 13 % of male and 20 % of female veterans carried a PTSD diagnosis in FY 2022—lower than the trafficking‑survivor rates above. (Veterans Health Library)
Overlapping challenges are the norm. Polaris’s National Survivor Study reports 93 % of survivors grapple with substance‑use or other mental‑health challenges alongside trauma. (Polaris)
Suicide attempts remain alarmingly high. Research cited in our own 2024 blog shows 41 % of trafficking survivors have attempted suicide at least once. (REST)
REST’s most recent fiscal‑year data show 62 % of enrolled clients live with at least one diagnosed mental‑health condition, and 81 % face a mix of mental‑health, chronic‑health, disability, or substance‑use issues.
Why Trafficking Trauma Cuts So Deep
Trafficking forces people into a state of prolonged helplessness. Chronic exposure to violence, coercion, isolation, and repeated sexual assault can rewire the brain’s stress response. Survivors often describe:
Intrusive flashbacks that hijack daily life
Hyper‑vigilance or emotional numbness that severs relationships
Depression so pervasive it clouds any vision of the future
Anxiety that turns every phone ping into a threat
These symptoms can persist for years—even after basic needs such as housing or safety are met—unless specialized, trauma‑informed care is available
Pathways to Healing
The good news: evidence‑based, survivor‑centered care changes lives.
Trauma‑informed therapies—including EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and trauma‑focused CBT—show strong results for PTSD and depression.
Mind‑body interventions such as yoga and breath‑work reduced PTSD and depressive symptoms in a 2025 pilot with trafficking survivors, underscoring the value of holistic approaches. (Taylor & Francis Online)
Peer support and advocacy build community, reduce shame, and foster agency, which research repeatedly links to better mental‑health outcomes.
At REST, survivors set their own goals. Last year, we provided 492 individual mental‑health sessions, while 85 clients achieved 257 health‑related milestones—from completing assessments to reporting improved overall wellbeing.
How You Can Help This May
Give – Your gift funds counseling, psychiatry, and holistic therapies that insurance rarely covers.
Share – Spread the word on social media or with friends: mental health support is not a luxury; it is a lifeline.
Advocate – Urge policymakers to fund long‑term, trauma‑informed services for trafficking survivors.
Volunteer – Licensed professionals can offer pro bono counseling; while community members can mentor, tutor, or simply listen.
Every action—no matter how small—helps transform trauma into hope. This Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s remind survivors that healing isn’t just possible—it’s a right they deserve. Together, we can close the mental-health gap and make freedom truly healing.
Explore and share our curated list of survivor-centered resources: https://iwantrest.com/hcp-toolkit/resources