Beyond Rescue: Healing the Invisible Wounds of Trafficked Boys and Men

by Michelle Loisel, DC

When we speak about human trafficking, public attention most often turns, rightly, to the suffering of women and girls.  However, 40% of the detected global trafficking victims are male (men and boys). And yes, across migration routes, informal labor markets, conflict zones, and urban centers, boys and men are also being trafficked in large numbers, particularly for forced labor. Their experiences remain underreported, under-recognized, and too often unsupported. As a result, not only are their bodies exploited, but their wounds are frequently left unseen.

A Hidden Reality in Migration and Forced Labor
For many boys and men, trafficking begins with migration. Some leave home to escape poverty, violence, environmental destruction, or lack of opportunity. Others are displaced by conflict or family breakdown. Along the way, smugglers, recruiters, or even acquaintances promise work, documents, or safety. What follows is often a descent into forced labor, debt bondage, domestic servitude, agriculture, construction, mining, factories, fishing industries, or street-based exploitation.  Because cultural expectations often define males as “strong,” “independent,” or “able to endure,” their exploitation is less likely to be identified. Boys are seen as workers, not victims. Men are assumed to have chosen their situation. This misunderstanding allows trafficking of males to thrive in silence. Many endure long hours, violence, threats, withheld wages, confiscated documents, and total dependency on exploiters. For undocumented migrants, the fear of detention or deportation becomes a powerful weapon used to control them.

The Invisible Wounds
Rescue, when it happens, is only the beginning. Trafficked boys and men often carry deep psychological and emotional wounds: trauma from violence, humiliation, isolation, and loss of dignity. Some have been forced to harm others. Many struggle with shame, anger, depression, substance use, or an inability to trust.  Yet services are frequently designed with female survivors in mind. Male survivors may not find shelters that accept them, counselors trained to work with them, or safe spaces where vulnerability is permitted. In many cultures, men are discouraged from speaking about suffering. As a result, their trauma goes untreated, and untreated trauma limits true recovery.
Survival, in this context, cannot be measured only by escape from exploitation. A person may be physically free and still imprisoned by fear, guilt, or hopelessness.

Is Healing Part of Survival?
If our response to trafficking stops at rescue, we fall short. Healing must be recognized as essential to survival. Healing includes trauma-informed mental health care, restoration of a sense of identity and self-worth, safe community and belonging, access to education, legal protection, and dignified work, long-term accompaniment, not short-term intervention. For boys and men, healing also means creating spaces where their victimization is believed, their vulnerability is respected, and their strength is not used to deny their pain.  Without healing, survivors remain at high risk of re-trafficking, homelessness, conflict with the law, and self-harm. With healing, recovery becomes possible: the ability to build relationships, make choices, dream again, and reclaim agency over one’s life.

Are we sufficiently aware?
Despite growing research, public awareness, and anti-trafficking strategies still largely overlook males, especially in forced labor. Campaigns, policies, and funding streams often fail to reflect the reality that men and boys make up a significant proportion of trafficking victims worldwide.  This lack of awareness affects authorities’ and service providers’ identification, the availability of survivor services, data collection and research, and prevention strategies along migration routes.
To be truly effective, anti-trafficking efforts must confront this blind spot. Seeing trafficked boys and men does not take away from the suffering of women and girls. It strengthens the entire movement by ensuring that no victim is invisible.

Recent Reports and Research (2023–2025)

1. UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (2022/2023)
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons shows that globally about 40 % of detected trafficking victims are male (men & boys) — yet they are often overlooked in policy and programming. It also notes that boys are the fastest-growing segment of identified trafficking victims.
This report is considered the most authoritative global data on human trafficking. The 2022 figures were released in January 2023.

2. “Human Trafficking of Boys and Young Men” — Systematic Literature Review (2024)
This peer-reviewed article, published in 2024 (MDPI), explicitly focuses on boys and young men who have been trafficked — especially in forced labor — and how their mental health needs and post-trafficking care are often neglected. It highlights:
• The increase in identified male and boy victims over time.
• That two-thirds of detected boys were trafficked for forced labor.
This is one of the most recent academic pieces on the subject.

3. U.S. Government Data & Reporting (2024)
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Human Trafficking Report (Dec 2024) provides recent US data, showing labor trafficking incidents and victimizations by type. While it doesn’t break down sex by gender in the published summary, it is one of the most current official datasets available on trafficking in the United States.

4. Human Trafficking Prevention Alliance – Overview of Male Victims
Summarizing data from the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report (US Government), this article affirms that:
• Boys are a rapidly increasing category of victims.
• Males (men and boys) make up about 40 % of identified trafficking victims worldwide.
It emphasizes that male victimization is often under-identified and that cultural stigma and self-perceptions contribute to underreporting.

5. LegalClarity Article on Male Human Trafficking Victims (Dec 2025)
A recent (December 2025) article highlights that:
• Men and boys are significantly underrepresented in trafficking discourse, despite high numbers in labor trafficking.
• Cultural stigma and service gaps mean male survivors are less likely to be identified and supported.
This piece focuses on legal rights and signs of male trafficking victimization. vulnerable among us.