This session will examine the complex trauma children experience when trafficked by family members and the profound impact it has on their development. As a lived experience expert, Alexandria LeZion will be blending the presentation with stories from her personal experiences of being trafficked in familial and commercial exploitation situations, as well as how these strategies impacted her own healing in a positive way. She will discuss systemic gaps that enable ongoing exploitation, examine the frequently overlooked intersections between familial trafficking and foster care, and present practical strategies for people working with survivors. These strategies will cover observation, documentation, advocacy, relationship-building, and response techniques to empower people in effectively supporting and protecting vulnerable youth within their communities. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how trafficking can happen in families without stigmatizing survivors, how to interact with others in ways that center safety, trust, and respect, explore ways that systems fail to provide access to services that survivors need, and will leave with tangible tools they can use to identify trafficking situations and provide empowered and empathetic support that respects autonomy from a trauma-informed lens.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Alexandria LeZion is a survivor leader working with CASA SWMO where she leads, mentors, and empowers court-appointed volunteers in their advocacy for children facing trafficking, abuse, and neglect. She has a strong background in anti-trafficking work as a consultant and public speaker who holds a master’s degree in international psychology.