3 Ways to Bridge Hope for Survivors of Human Trafficking
Recently, I found myself on a beach staring at a bridge spanning a beautiful waterway. As the seagulls flew over my head, I noticed the sun glistening off the stunning beams of this large metal structure. Getting lost in the moment, I found my mind thinking about the ways that this bridge connected people, cultures, and creativity to other individuals with shared interests and needs.
Listening to the soothing waves hit the shore and smelling the saltiness of the ocean, I began to visualize families taking their children to school across the bridge and the commuters who depended on it to get to work. Yet, just as I was thinking about how essential bridges are for this community, I began to think about my experiences as a survivor of human trafficking and the ways that people like you have bridged resources and support to me when I needed it most. Youth shelters that fed me hot meals, people who spoke to me kindly, and strangers who saw me as a person, wrapping dignity around my entire being. If it weren’t for these individuals bridging hope to my heart and empowering me, I fully believe that I would not be free from exploitation and trafficking today.
“Yet, just as I was thinking about how essential bridges are for this community, I began to think about my experiences as a survivor of human trafficking and the ways that people like you have bridged resources and support to me when I needed it most.”
The cool thing, just as individuals have supported me on my recovery journey, I believe that you can be this type of person in the life of someone else who has experienced trafficking.
Advocate for survivors by raising awareness of trafficking.
Although the media is talking about human trafficking more today than they have ever done in history, there is still a lot of misinformation about trafficking spreading around us. Here, sensationalism promotes myths, making it hard for survivors of trafficking to self-identify as a survivor and difficult for well-meaning people to recognize the signs of trafficking in their community. Due to the negative nature of spreading information that is inaccurate, please promote material that is factual of survivor experiences and only spread data from reliable sources. Part of this process might mean that you will need to become dedicated to the process of on-going education about trafficking and share about all typologies of human trafficking, including: labor trafficking, domestic servitude, familial trafficking, trafficking that is happening to boys, pimp controlled trafficking, gang controlled trafficking, trafficking that is happening in the LGBTQ+ populations, illicit massage parlors, etc. As you receive more education, you will learn how to spot red flags of trafficking in all types of victims and how to report it to the proper authorities.
Adopt a lifestyle of kindness.
Many survivors of human trafficking and other traumatic experiences are walking around us on a daily basis. Yet, since many of these individuals have never disclosed their victimization to anyone due to stigmas and fears, they struggle to receive the resources and care that they need. To help create a message that it is safe to disclose and seek help, I believe that we need to adopt a lifestyle where we are kind to everyone that we meet, giving people the benefit of the doubt and believing the best in them. This process does not mean that we put up with behavior that is unhealthy or abusive, but it means that we make kindness a mantra in how we live our life. This perspective is essential because if we want to treat survivors of human trafficking with compassion, but have an attitude that we will not treat other people with the same kind of love—that will do more damage than good to victims of this crime. Many survivors of human trafficking, like myself, have survived the torture and inhuman parts of their trafficking because they learned how to read their traffickers body language, as well as the people who exploited their innocence. Due to the ways that they can read individuals, survivors are hypervigilant and can tell whether a person is being transparent or if they are faking it simply because one wants to feel good about themselves. When kindness is a lifestyle, it becomes a gift of our shared humanity versus something that is demanded or earned.
Seek to “do no harm” in all choices that you make.
If we want to support survivors of trafficking, we need to stop supporting traffickers and industries that are harming victims. For example, research is showing that pornography is directly related to human trafficking. Then there are many industries like restaurants, cleaning businesses, and landscaping businesses that do not treat their workers properly, just as products that you might use on a daily basis like the clothing you wear, chocolate, and coffee might be made with modern day slavery. In seeking to “do no harm” in your choices, seek to use only ethically made products and advocate for justice in industries where trafficking is taking place. Although victims of trafficking cannot make choices, you can and you hold the power to make a choice of freedom!
Just as bridges are essential to communal growth and development, you can be a bridge in a survivor’s life today. Never underestimate how your passion and awareness can create a movement and change the life of another person! All you need is the courage to see people as human.
About the Author
Jessa Dillow Crisp is the Co-founder and Executive Director at BridgeHope, a non-profit that helps individuals give hope to survivors of trafficking within their community, as well as an independent consultant, speaker, and author at www.jessacrisp.com. Jessa uses her childhood experience of severe abuse and trafficking to illustrate both the stark realities of trafficking and the truth that healing transformation is possible. For fun, Jessa enjoys hiking Colorado’s mountains with her husband and curating relationships over freshly brewed coffee.