Abstract

Despite sustained policy and research attention to vulnerability and re-victimisation, post-trafficking trajectories remain comparatively under-examined. Drawing on a feminist qualitative study, this chapter reconstructs post-trafficking pathways through five case studies of Romanian women trafficked in the United Kingdom, modelling diverse outcomes. The cases illustrate recurring patterns: rapid stabilisation with family support; misidentification and criminalisation; return migration with labour precarity; and fragmented repatriation. They also trace moments of progress anchored in survivor agency, trust-building, and meaning-making around family, work, and safety. Findings demonstrate that, nearly 25 years after the Palermo Protocol, anti-trafficking shortcomings remain structural: misrecognition of non-stereotypical victimhood, crisis-bounded protection misaligned with survivors’ preferences, and justice processes that punish without offering meaningful support. Success pathways emerge through self-directed exits, relational supports that rebuild trust, and affirming judicial encounters. This chapter argues that effective reintegration demands consistent cross-border collaboration and investment in continuity, autonomy, and long-term stability. It concludes by proposing practice and policy directions centring trust, economic security, and survivor expertise – positioning lived experience not merely as testimonial evidence, but as a foundation for rethinking sustainable post-trafficking recovery.