Interventions to Support Substance Use Recovery Among Human Trafficking Survivors: A Scoping Review

Substance use disorder (SUD) and substance misuse are commonly reported among survivors of human trafficking. This scoping review identifies current empirical research on substance use treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services for survivors.

Reviewers searched Ovid-Medline All, Embase.com, CINAHL Plus, Scopus, and Web of Science and conducted forward and backward citation searching of studies that included child, adolescent, or adult sex or labor trafficking survivors, tested a specific intervention to promote substance use recovery, and reported substance use disorder or substance misuse-related outcomes. Two reviewers screened title/abstracts, screened full texts, and extracted data. Reviewers coded bibliographic information, participant characteristics, study design, intervention characteristics, and primary substance use-related outcomes. Data elements were narratively summarized.

Six studies, published between 2010 and 2025, were included in this review. Two programs were based in specialty courts in the United States for trafficked youth, whereas the other four were multi-modal (housing, health services, basic needs) nonprofit hospital- or community-based programs in the US (n = 3) and Israel (n = 1). Substance use outcomes were defined through self-reported frequency of use (n = 3), case manager-rated measures (n = 2), and case records (n = 1).

Few research or evaluation studies were identified that assessed substance use-related outcomes for survivors in treatment programs. Standardized assessments of substance use, context of use, and related problems were not commonly used. Evaluation of evidence-based psychosocial interventions for SUD is warranted to identify potential adaptations that would support substance use recovery among survivors.