A total of 220 girls and women were eligible
and were invited to participate. Seven of the
220 declined, and 9 interviews were excluded
either because the respondents were trafficked
for other purposes (i.e., panhandling, petty
theft), interviews were terminated early, or
interviews were incomplete. A total of 204 girls
and women were included in this analysis,
the majority of whom were interviewed in
Ukraine and Moldova. Trained counselors
obtained written consent from each participant
and carried out face-to-face interviews to ensure
that any participant requiring follow-up
had access to medical care, that all participants
were observed for distress, and that participants
experiencing distress received appropriate
follow-up care.19 The multicountry design
was adopted to reflect the global nature of
trafficking and to improve the representation of
trafficked women’s and girls’ experiences within
Europe.