Despite the widespread adoption of trauma-informed care, anti-trafficking systems continue to face persistent challenges in survivor identification, engagement, and long-term recovery. This presentation argues that a critical gap lies in the insufficient recognition of shame as a central factor shaping survivor behavior and institutional response. Shame often drives silence, self-blame, and disengagement, while also being unintentionally reinforced through standard practices such as interviews, case management processes, and legal procedures. Drawing from clinical trauma practice and program implementation across Southeast Asia, this session introduces a Shame-Informed Practice framework designed to strengthen survivor care within anti-trafficking and gender-based violence contexts. Through the presenter’s survivor lived experience, the presentation incorporates short reflective case examples and lived-experience insights to illustrate how shame operates in real life examples - across neurobiological, relational, and systemic levels, influencing disclosure, trust, and decision-making. It highlights how cultural norms, gender expectations, and organizational systems can perpetuate shame, limiting the effectiveness of existing interventions. Participants will be equipped with practical tools to identify shame responses, adapt communication approaches, and redesign service environments to reduce retraumatization and improve engagement. Through applied examples, the session demonstrates how integrating a shame-informed lens can enhance survivor identification, strengthen trust, and improve long-term outcomes. This presentation calls for a shift beyond trauma-informed care towards approaches that explicitly address shame as a core driver within exploitation and recovery, contributing to more effective, ethical, and survivor-centered anti-trafficking responses.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Helen Avadiar-Nimbalker is Director of the Asia Freedom Network and a trauma therapist with more than 20 years’ experience addressing gender-based violence and trafficking. She develops survivor-centered prevention and aftercare programs across Asia and advises organizations on strengthening trauma-informed identification, recovery support, and community-based responses to exploitation.