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Running Header: TRAFFICKING RECOVERY

Methods of Recovering for Victims of Human Trafficking Ashlyn Cooley Glen Allen High School

Trafficking Recovery 2 Human trafficking, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, is defined as the trade of women and children for prostitution and force, fraud, or coercion beyond sexual exploitation. This illegal activity occurs all around the world, even in the United States and it is slowly grabbing the attention and awareness of American citizens. In order to help victims regain their lives, various anti-trafficking organizations have been created in order to fight the modern form of slavery. These types of groups and organizations are designed to help trafficking victims and have sprouted up nationwide. Ultimately, these organizations work towards the reintegration of victims into the world again without the emotional and physical wounds of their experiences. Through research, it has been found that overall, there is no set plan of action but rather the procedure of the recovery varies by victims when focusing on the medical and psychological effects, the short-term care, and the long-term care for each victim. The most common physical injuries and maladies that a trafficking victim obtains are bruises, broken bones, cuts, burns, rashes, headaches, dizziness, fainting, and sexually transmitted diseases (Armstrong, 2008, p. 23). Some other injuries are just as severe, but are not nearly as visible. Most trafficking victims have PTSD associated symptoms, especially in women, along with other mood and anxiety disorders such as panic attack, OCD, and depression (Clawson, Dutch, & Williamson, 2010). Due to evidence-based research and the progression of psychological treatment, these disorders can be diagnosed and successfully treated. The main types of therapies that are successful for trafficked victims are Cognitive Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitation and Reprocessing, and Stress Inoculation Training. Through these therapies, victims have a better likelihood of full recovery and reintegration into the world.

Trafficking Recovery 3 The immediate care of a trafficking victim is one of the most important factors that go into recovery. Victims must have appropriate shelter when first out of the trafficking rings. These shelters must be secret from traffickers, protected, and caring for one gender around the same age (Armstrong, 2008, p. 15). As simple as this sounds, care providers must be wary that victims are provided with a stable environment without must moving around or with people of questionable character, such as drug users, criminals, or violent people. If this happens, the victims recovery will be tainted by first impressions of a lack of safety. Also, Armstrong mentions that sickness and injuries must be treated immediately (2008, p. 21). Not only that, but keeping a victims clean and well-rested with clothing on their backs is needed from the start in order to best begin the healing process of a victim (Armstrong, 2008, p. 21-22). Having a decent short-term care sets the trafficking victim up for a successful long-term care and ultimate recovery. After short-term care, a victim goes through a long-term care process that usually occurs in a rehabilitation center of some kind. According to Armstrong, centers exist to give clients a new taste of freedom, that has been denied to them for so long (Armstrong, 2008, p. 18). And though most facilities are adequate in supplying various services and cares for victims, there are too many victims for each of them to receive the same quality of care. As Clawson and Grace point out, there needs to be more good facilities that are tailored more specifically to the needs of trafficking victims (2007, p. 3). It is also helpful for female victims to recover in a primarily female center mainly because she has most likely been exploited by males and that memory may inhibit recovery. A vital aspect that was reinforced by multiple sources was that regardless of the quality of the facility itself, without the assurance of the victims physical and emotional safety, it simply isnt good enough. The need for the protection is derived from the lack that

Trafficking Recovery 4 victims have had in their pasts and in order to rebuild someone on an emotional level, they must be open to trust and to achieve that, they must feel safe at all times. In an ideal long-term care facility, a trafficking victim should become equipped to become immersed in the world. Through various programs, this is made possible. At the best rehabilitation centers, some services provided include intensive case management, medical screening and routine care, mental health counseling and treatment, job training programs, life skills, youth development program, education, and family involvement (Clawson & Grace, 2007, p. 6-8). With well-developed and staffed programs such as these in a secure environment, victims will begin taking their steps further from victim and closer to survivor. Since most of the research found relies heavily on rebuilding trust in every aspect of a victims life, my thesis statement is veering in that direction. People in a victims life provide a basis for their recovery and as Clawson and Grace state, the staff must be run by individuals who live and breathe trafficking in order for a victim to be understood and empathized with. I believe that no matter how much medical recovery and care facilities that a victim may go through, without the right people employed and without the right relationship rebuilding, the victim will always have open psychological wounds. This is derived primarily from the amount of psychological trauma and broken trust that a victim would have been and still be experiencing throughout their recovery process. The best way to heal a person is to simply love and accept them and ensure their safety at all times. And I feel that that is all a trafficking victim really wants: to be truly loved.

Trafficking Recovery 5 References: Armstrong, H. C. (2008). Rebuilding lives. Retrieved from http://www.freetheslaves.net/ Document.Doc?id=60 Bales, K., Hyde, J., & Levin, M. (2006). Physical and mental health aspects of rehabilitating children freed from slavery. Retrieved from http://www.freetheslaves.net/Document. Doc?id=36 Clawson, H. J., Dutch, N. M., & Williamson, E. (2010). Evidence-based mental health treatment for victims of human trafficking. Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/Human Trafficking/MentalHealth/index.shtml Clawson, H. J., Dutch, N. M., & Williamson, E. (2010). Medical treatment of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and its applicability to victims of human trafficking. Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/HumanTrafficking/SA-DV/index.shtml Clawson, H. J., Dutch, N. M., Solomon, A., & Grace, L. G. (2009). Human trafficking into and within the United States: A review of the literature. Retrieved from http://aspe.hhs.gov/ hsp/07/ HumanTrafficking/LitRev/index.shtml#needs Clawson, H. J. & Grace, L. G. (2007). Finding a path to recovery: Residential facilities for minor victims of domestic sex trafficking. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ humtraffdata/10/?utm_source=digitalcommons.unl.edu%2Fhumtraffdata%2F10&utm_m edium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages Hughes, D. M. (2003). Hiding in plain sight. Retrieved from http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/hiding_in_plain_sight.pdf Polaris Project. (2011). Child sex trafficking in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.polarisproject.org/resources/resources-by-topic/sex-trafficking Polaris Project. (2010). In their shoes: Understanding victims mindsets and common barriers to victim identification. Retrieved from http://www.polarisproject.org/resources/resourcesby-topic/human-trafficking Polaris Project. Domestic sex trafficking: The criminal operations of the American pimp. Retrieved from http://www.polarisproject.org/resources/resources-by-topic/sextrafficking

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