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ABSTRACT
Human trafficking violates fundamental rights and undermines lifelong well-being for survivors. There is an urgent need for evidence-based interventions for women and girls who have been trafficked, including those that can be implemented in low-resource settings. In this paper, we describe the purpose, structure, and preliminary results from a promising new approach, Healing and Resilience after Trauma (HaRT) Yoga, developed and piloted in Kampala, Uganda. HaRT Yoga is a twelve-week psycho-social intervention for women and girls who have experienced human trafficking. It aims to create a nurturing environment where participants can strengthen their inner resilience, build a supportive community, and overcome the psychological effects of trauma. The group-based programme involves weekly sessions that integrate yoga poses alongside breathwork, visualizations, mindfulness practices, and theme-based discussions. Overall results from an initial pilot (2017) were promising; participants experienced reductions in depression symptoms and improvements in self-rated emotional and physical health. Further, we found the programme was acceptable and feasible to implement in a shelter-based setting. Findings underscore the potential promise of this low cost, somatic approach to social work practice with trauma survivors, suggesting that a more rigorous evaluation of impact is warranted.
Disclosure statement
Sophie Namy and Catherine Carlson are co-Directors at HaRT and Sophie facilitated the yoga sessions during the pilot period. Kelsey Morgan is the Executive Director at Willow International, where HaRT Yoga is being implemented. Remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sophie Namy
Sophie Namy is a feminist researcher and practitioner; she is the Founder and Co-Director of Healing and Resilience after Trauma (HaRT) and a Technical Advisor at Raising Voices.
Catherine Carlson
Catherine Carlson is an expert in global mental health and violence research; she is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Alabama and Co-Director of Healing and Resilience after Trauma (HaRT).
Kelsey Morgan
Kelsey Morgan is the Founder and Executive Director of Willow International and a Ph.D. Candidate at University of California Irvine’s School of Social Ecology.
Violet Nkwanzi
Violet Nkwanzi is a Ph.D. Candidate at The University of Alabama School of Social Work, focused on human trafficking and mental health.
Jessica Neese
Jessica Neese is a Research Assistant at the University of Alabama.