Integrating data from two qualitative studies, this presentation will explore unintentional harm by caregivers that perpetuates re-traumatization and re-exploitation of human trafficking survivors rather than foster reintegration and healing. The first study focused on the impact and experiences of sex trafficking survivors through the lens of complex trauma and posttraumatic growth. Participants completed open-ended interviews, took photos, and participated in online focus groups to explore identity, sexuality, relationships, and factors of community reintegration including what survivors described as helpful in their aftercare and healing process. Data analysis included multi-level conceptual and thematic coding. Data revealed unintentional harm by service providers when survivors were receiving post-trafficking services. The second study was a recent mixed-methods study that explored the potential impact of trauma-related shame on survivors of child sex trafficking and identified the influence shame has on the pathology of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, the study aimed to provide insight to best practices in supporting survivors as they receive interventions, especially in their mental health recovery. This research also explores how survivors of child trafficking define shame and complex trauma from their own lived experience. Data again revealed some examples of unintentional harm by service providers. The findings from both of these studies will be interwoven and presented to participants in such a way that they will leave with a greater understanding of survivors’ expressed experiences of re-traumatization and re-exploitation while receiving services.
Dr. Heather Evans is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a group therapy practice in Pennsylvania and over 25 years of experience specializing in sexual trauma. She trains providers and institutions nationally and globally in trauma-informed care, has authored two books on complex trauma, and is Co-Founder of the Voices of Survivors Project.
Dr. Alycha Boehm is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker engaged in regional anti-trafficking collaboration. She is Co-Founder of THRIVE, a therapeutic group home for adolescent survivors of trafficking in Pennsylvania, and serves as a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Kutztown University.