Meaningfulness of life between sex trafficking female survivors and females from the general public in India

Abstract

Sex trafficking is commercial sex induced by fraud, force, or coercion, which is a form of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Women in any country of the world usually have less power, lower status, and lesser economic opportunities, and are not treated equally as men in their workforces and communities. These factors place females in a vulnerable position making them easy prey for sex traffickers. This study aimed to compare the meaning in life between survivors of sex trafficking and females from the general public. A total of 100 samples comprised this study, of which, 50 were female survivors of sex trafficking and 50 were females from the general public. The results show that for the current level of meaning in life, the p-value is .00, which is less than .05, hence there is a significant difference in the current level of meaning in life between the two groups. For the degree of searching for meaning in life, the p-value is .02, which is also less than .05, hence there is a significant difference in the degree of searching for meaning in life between the two groups. The mean for the current level of meaning in life is 67.09 for females from the general public, which is higher than the mean of 33.91 for female survivors of sex trafficking. For searching for meaning in life, the mean is 43.86 for females from the general public, which is lower than the mean of 57.14 for females rescued from sex trafficking.