Protective Services for Survivors
The fight against human trafficking is more than just rescuing victims from human trafficking—it’s about stopping trafficking before it even starts, intervening when it does and protecting survivors afterward by providing comprehensive care. Survivor protection is also called “aftercare,” which refers to a range of services from immediate basic necessities to therapy, education, legal services and employment. These kinds of protective services for survivors enable them to rehabilitate their lives after exploitation.
Victims of human trafficking are subject to profound and often prolonged trauma at the hands of others. The Polaris Project identifies unstable housing and recent relocation or migration as risk factors for both sex and labor trafficking. Other factors that make potential victims vulnerable to traffickers include homelessness (particularly for runaway youth), substance use and physical or mental health concerns. Through the continued exploitation of these vulnerabilities and other forms of abusive coercion, the trafficker keeps the victim under their control.
Surviving these circumstances is no small feat—and recovering isn’t either. Aftercare is crucial to the wellbeing of the survivor and their reintegration into society. Without protective services, a survivor runs the risk of returning to an exploitative environment and experiencing re-victimization or secondary victimization. According to the Model Law on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime by the UNODC, re-victimization occurs when a survivor “suffers more than one criminal incident over a specific period of time,” whereas secondary victimization is not the direct result of criminal action but occurs because of the response (or lack thereof) of organizations, systems and individuals to the survivor.
How the Dressember Network protects survivors
All survivors deserve access to services that protect them from further victimization. Through Dressember’s programmatic partners, survivors can receive the care they need—“unique, individualized treatment” that includes access to housing, medical treatment, individualized trauma therapy, education, vocational opportunities, and mentorship.
Dressember partners with many organizations that prioritize survivor protection or incorporate aftercare services in their anti-trafficking approach. Some current partners include CAST, Love146, Pathfinders, Restore NYC, Willow International, youthSpark, Olive Crest and A21. Dressember has been partnering with A21 to restore survivors of human trafficking. To this end, A21 focuses on the individual needs of survivors, “providing them with access to housing, medical treatment, counseling, education, and employment to help them reach a place of independence.” A21 also offers employment to survivors through their social enterprise Liberty, producing handmade scarves and teaching business skills. Repatriation services are also available through A21’s SAFE program.
“‘Secondary victimization’ means victimization that occurs not as a direct result of a criminal act but through the response of institutions and individuals to
the victim.”
CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking) offers many similar social services and legal services that Dressember resources. CAST has also established a shelter that “offers 12+ months of transitional housing, case management, a financial savings program, social and cultural activities, group therapy, supportive counseling and more.” Shelter residents are also mentored in conflict resolution, career preparation and financial planning. Like CAST, Pathfinders sees that access to safe, stable housing greatly reduces the threat of victimization for at-risk individuals and survivors. For this reason, Pathfinders employs a “housing first model,” which secures safe housing for any at-risk individual, whether they have been trafficked previously or not.
These are just a few examples of partners in the Dressember Network, but all of our programmatic partners understand that survivor recovery requires comprehensive aftercare. Access to safe housing and education as well as other basic rights—things survivors were denied as victims—is crucial as they work towards their full reintegration into life after trafficking.
About the Author
Emmy Luker is a writer and MDiv candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is passionate about speaking and writing about what is true, and doing it in a way people can and want to hear. Originally from Colorado, she is a big fan of alpine views and mountain hikes, but she is learning to love the wind and the lake as a recent transplant in Chicago.