Design directly impacts health and well-being. Establishing how the physical environment can promote healing was the underlying objective for this project. Completed in 2020, our design framework, aimed at supporting survivors of human trafficking as part of their psychological rehabilitation, offers a human-centred, evidence-based and user-led approach to the design of facilities – including shelters and care centres. 

Drawing on the direct testimonies from trafficking survivors in Uganda, our framework outlines their needs during the healing process to inform the development of safer and healthier future care centres. The guide and other project outputs, such as a short documentary, are publicly available and aimed at designers and care professionals. 

In addition to specific design considerations, our work also provides insight into wider social, psychological and health issues experienced by trafficking survivors and in doing so may influence the understanding and ability of policy makers, antitrafficking enforcers and care givers to better meet the challenges of human trafficking and modern slavery.

To find out more, download our projects outputs below:

Healing Spaces Research Report

Healing Spaces: A Design Framework for Care Centers for Human Trafficking Survivors

Healing Spaces: Documentary