How effective are traditional ceremonies and healing rituals in aiding recovery and reintegration?

Practitioners working with individuals and groups from different cultures have highlighted how people experience, understand and cope with misfortune and illness in very different ways.

Negative events, for many, can not be explained purely by science or by human action. In a number of cultures and religions there is not just the human world to contend with but a spiritual and natural world where forces, such as the spirits of ancestors, have power to cause illness and bad luck.

Such beliefs mean that standard western analysis of situations, especially mental health concerns, and the responses and treatment of such issues, may not always be able to address all the needs of the victim. Many who may in fact feel that they require help with appeasing the spiritual world.

In the case of trafficking, reports in the UK and elsewhere have highlighted how a number of victims of sexual exploitation are involved in ceremonies and voodoo rituals before they leave their home countries. These rituals ensure that the victims are kept under strict control and are too scared to escape or speak of their experiences for fear of serious retribution from the spiritual forces.

If ceremonies can have such a powerful affect on some individuals, can cleansing or healing rituals be as powerful in mentally releasing victims and aiding them in their recovery and reintegration?

Ceremonies and rituals have been used over time, across the world, to mark the transition from one stage of life into a new phase. Ceremonies symbolise new beginnings and acknowledge that the individual is 'moving on' and leaving their past behind.

In many cultures healing and cleansing rituals have evolved to deal with new situations and experiences, and in the last couple of decades there has been a new interest in the affect of these rituals. Practitioners working with child soldiers and women affected by sexual abuse, mainly in situations of conflict, have started to explore and document the positive affects of these methods for recovery and reintegration.

Most of the research and writing to date comes from within Africa by a mix of anthropologists, such as Alcinda Honwana and professionals attached to aid organisations including Lindsay Stark from the Program for Forced Migration and Health at Colombia.

Reports note how these cleansing and purification rituals can aid the individual in different ways. The acts demonstrate to the community that they have been cleansed and will no longer bring 'bad luck' or 'bad fortune' or contaminate others. This means that both the family and community are more likely to welcome them back. In addition such acts can have a positive affect on the individual who can 'shed' their former self, look forward and focus on their recovery.

If this is the case then there appears to be potentially powerful benefits for some individuals and groups who have been trafficked or sexually exploited and require assistance in terms of their recovery and reintegration into their community.

Currently there is little documentation on what could be an important response for some children involved in exploitation. The work by Annuska Derks in Cambodia surrounding the reintegration of trafficking victims is one of very few resources currently available. 

If we hope to provide and support the most effective interventions we need to get to grips with the child's situation, their beliefs, values and concerns. It is essential to consider the social and cultural world that they inhabit and recognise practices that may be beneficial as well as those that may cause harm or reaffirm discrimination and exclusion. There is currently a real 'gap' in what we know about traditional ceremonies and healing rituals for trafficked and exploited children. More discussion and exploration is required in order to better understand the implications and affects of actively supporting such practices.