Posttraumatic distress, hope, and growth in survivors of commercial sexual exploitation in Nepal.

Abstract

Commercial sexual exploitation affects between 5,000 and 7,000 girls and women in Nepal each year and can have devastating physical and psychological consequences. Much research has documented these effects; however, there is no published research that focuses on whether healing and growth outcomes are possible for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. The narratives of 26 girls and women (13–18 years) were taken at two time points during participation in a 6-week group psychoeducation and art therapy program, which was delivered across three nongovernmental organizations in Kathmandu, Nepal. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Themes emerging from Time Point 1 were psychological distress in the form of anxiety and grief over loss of family, psychosomatic symptoms, empathy and compassion, and posttraumatic growth (PTG; new possibilities, relating to others, and personal strength). The themes emerging from Time Point 2, were empathy and compassion and PTG (cognitive restructuring, new possibilities, relating to others, and personal strength). These outcomes were seen alongside ongoing distress. Future research would advance knowledge by further examining the process of PTG in this population, if the changes observed were lasting, and, if so, ways in which PTG can be facilitated or promoted.