Volume_7_Issue_1_Digest

6 TPC Digest 6 Stacey Diane A. Litam H uman sex trafficking, also called modern day slavery, is a social justice issue that exploits millions of men, women and children globally. Although rates of forced labor are notoriously difficult to obtain, the U.S. Department of State estimates 4.5 million people are victims of forced sexual exploitation worldwide. Within the United States, one in five runaway children is at risk for forced sexual exploitation. This change reflects an increase from an estimated one in six in 2014. Counselors must become educated at recognizing the signs of trafficked persons, vulnerabilities to becoming trafficked, and the processes by which persons are forced into sexual exploitation in order to obtain a deeper understanding of how to best support trafficked survivors that present for mental health services. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) defines the act of human trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for commercial sex through force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person performing the act is under 18 years of age. Traffickers use threats, coercion or force to ensnare victims, obtain control and break their spirits. In some cases, victims form a trauma bond with their traffickers. Although persons from any socioeconomic background, race or ethnicity may become trafficked, vulnerabilities, such as location, poverty, sexual minority status, childhood trauma history, substance abuse history, and mental health issues, exist. Counselors working with at-risk populations, such as individuals with addictions, clients with a history of homelessness, and persons with trauma histories, should recognize signs that a client is trafficked. Within mental health settings, clients may present as fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, or avoid eye contact. Clients also may present with suicidal ideation, substance abuse histories, post-traumatic stress disorder, feelings of guilt and shame, and self-mutilation. Notably, trafficked survivors may struggle during a mental status exam due to a combination of working long hours, frequent transportation to and from locations, and exhaustion. Within school settings, trafficked survivors may reference travel to other cities, have signs of bruising, appear anxious, fearful, or provide coached or rehearsed responses to questions. Furthermore, they may dress inappropriately based on weather conditions, have significantly older boyfriends or girlfriends, describe concern for the safety of family members if they disclose, or care for children that are not family members. Finally, when children are being sex trafficked, they may be absent from school or miss periods of time while being sold to other communities. Counselors working with trafficked survivors are encouraged to seek supervision, connect with colleagues and practice regular self-care routines in order to avoid burnout, secondary trauma and compassion fatigue. An intervention specific to working with sex trafficked survivors has not yet been developed. Current treatments are borrowed from evidence-based interventions originally developed for post- traumatic stress disorder and survivors of domestic violence, slavery and captivity. Creative interventions, cognitive behavioral therapies and group counseling may be useful strategies for supporting sex trafficked clients. Regardless of interventions used, counselors are tasked with a unique position to provide corrective relational experiences characterized by non-judgmental acceptance, support and affirmation. Counselors should connect sex trafficked survivors to social support services, including case management, safe and stable housing, and services aimed at supporting the reintegration of clients into the community through education and job training. Stacey Diane A. Litam is a doctoral candidate at Kent State University and a mental health counselor at Moore Counseling and Mediation Services Inc. Correspondence can be addressed to Stacey Litam, Moore Counseling and Mediation Services, 4600 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44103, slitam@kent.edu . Read full article and references: Litam, S. D. A. (2017). Human sex trafficking in America: What counselors need to know. The Professional Counselor , 7, 45–61. doi: 10.15241/sdal.7.1.45 Sex Trafficking in America What Counselors Need to Know