Psychological Effects Of Slavery Essay

It’s the middle of the day and you’re cleaning a stranger’s kitchen as they sit around eating the lunch you prepared for them. You are thinking about the family you lost when you were seven. The dad who tucked you into bed at night, the mom who sung you lullabies, and the brother who was your hero in more ways than one. It’s been twelve years since you last saw them, you suddenly feel tears fall down your face and a pain of longing in your chest. Before you can wipe them away the owner of the kitchen begins to scream at you. You’re not sure why they are yelling but, then they take out a stick you have seen far too often and beat you till you could no longer feel it, till you can no longer see straight. You wipe away the new tears that formed …show more content…
Since many slaveholders use “psychological degradation” (Bales) to control their slaves this “renders victims unable to function in the outside world” (Bales). Lacking preparation for freedom has produced many cases where freed slaves will return to their slaveholders and resume working for them because they have lived most of their lives being completely dependent on their traffickers and only know how to be a slave. So when slaves are thrust out in the outside world it creates fear and uncertainty for them. Many have no help on the outside, making it harder to be free than to be a slave for them. Slavery organizations have often voiced their desire to help women readjust to life outside of slavery, but due to the physiological effects of slavery their “trust is affected” (Dorsey), so many do not accept help for fear of being forced back into slavery. “Even after traffickers are taken into custody, survivors may still worry about threats from criminal affiliates to their family and friends back home” (Clay), explaining to the large extent of how slaveholders had a strong psychologically hold on their slaves, enough to create fear even after being locked up. Slaveholder’s manipulation not only created fear, but left women “mentally unstable” (Dorsey) and unable to hold jobs. Some women may have escaped slavery, but the damaging effects last longer than women expect, making their readjustment to a life outside of slavery