Abstract
This chapter explores the role of psychological science and practice in prevention and detection of human trafficking, taking into account different subfields of the discipline. It delineates formal resolutions proposed by the American Psychological Association, in the light of some global standards on mental health of human trafficking survivors. Psychologists work on three levels to fight human trafficking: individual-community, systemic, and global; they play a significant role in identifying and properly interpreting indicators of human trafficking. In order to recognize victims of this crime, a knowledge of common behavioral responses associated with complex trauma appears helpful. Psychologists are uniquely positioned to comprehend and explain the manipulation and invisible chains that bind the victims. Successful prevention and detection of human trafficking should take into account cultural differences, stereotypes, empowerment of survivors, as well as their resilience and meaning-making processes.
TopIntroduction
This chapter discusses psychological factors in prevention and detection of human trafficking. Initially, human trafficking scholarship and research originated especially in the field of international law, following the United Nations’ (2000) and the United States Congress’ (Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 2000) definitions of human trafficking as a crime back in 2000. Within a short time, a need for multidisciplinary approach became evident (Van Impe, 2000). Scholars have recognized that human trafficking was a public health issue (Chisolm-Straker & Stoklosa, 2017; De Shalit et al., 2021; Fang et al., 2021; Gonzalez-Pons, 2021; Greenbaum, 2020) and experts from diverse backgrounds should join their efforts in order to prevent and detect human trafficking.
Psychological science, with a range of subfields and approaches, has much to offer in relation to understanding human trafficking. The diversity of psychology becomes evident when one examines the list of 54 divisions of the American Psychological Association (2021), from General Psychology, through Teaching of Psychology; Psychological Study of Social Issues; Consulting Psychology; Industrial and Organizational Psychology; to Trauma Psychology, to mention just a few. One could make a case that the majority of these divisions is in a position to offer a valuable contribution in terms of fighting human trafficking on different levels. Lately, the American Psychological Association has been promoting the interdisciplinary approach to human trafficking (Lim et al., 2020), frequently working together and benefiting from some overlaps with other disciplines, such as legal studies, sociology, anthropology, and education. This kind of approach is essential when it comes to human trafficking response (Recknor et al., 2020).
The objectives of this chapter consist of discussing the relevance of psychology (and some of its subfields) in relation to prevention and detection of human trafficking, with an emphasis on a trauma-informed approach (Chambers, 2019; Ladd & Neufeld Weaver, 2018; Miller et al., 2020; Scott et al., 2019). This approach directly addresses the critical issue of chronic trauma identified in literature on mental health as extremely relevant for everyone who comes into contact with prospective or current human trafficking victims (Chambers, 2019; Chambers et al., 2022; Scott et al., 2019); it is not limited to the trauma-specific therapy. As Chambers et al. (2022) note, the trauma experienced by human trafficking survivors is frequently chronic and complex, and may coincide with time frames of brain development leading to specific manifestations of complex post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma bonding to the abuser(s). This chapter will define complex trauma and trauma bonding as psychological phenomena that impact the functioning of human trafficking victims, and should be known to other professionals who interact with this vulnerable population. Psychological factors are critical in identifying, reporting, and curtailing human trafficking. In fact, some basic psychological knowledge and skills are necessary to recognize a prospective or current human trafficking victim, since most likely they look like the average person we meet (Walker, 2021).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Empowerment: the process by which individuals and groups gain power, access to resources, and control over their own lives to reach their personal and collective goals.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on their emotions and behavior.
Multicultural Competence: An ability to understand and constructively relate to the uniqueness of each client in light of the diverse cultures that influence each person's perspective.
Resilience: Capacity to bounce back or begin to recover following a traumatic experience.
Cultural Humility: Recognition of gaps in knowledge about a particular culture, limitations of understanding others’ culture and experiences, and an other-oriented interpersonal stance.
Narrative Therapy: A collaborative and non-pathologizing approach, which places people as the experts of their own lives as they tell their stories.
Survivor-Advocate Model: Human trafficking survivors are seen as the experts in their own life experience, from a strengths-based and empowerment perspective.
Contact Hypothesis: Contact between two groups can promote tolerance and acceptance, but only under certain conditions, such as equal status among groups and common goals.
Meaning-Making: The process by which a person attempts to reduce the discrepancy between the appraised meaning of the situation and their global beliefs, goals, and purpose.