The study of sexual exploitation of trafficked victims cannot be done without understanding their enforced isolation. To better understand the dynamics of isolation, this study examined how traffickers used different elements of isolation and how such tactics may have contributed to the traffickers' success in maintaining control over the victim(s). We examined in-depth narratives from 14 women between the ages of 20 to 53, primarily immigrants, who were recruited from an agency serving victims of sex trafficking in a large metropolitan city. The tactics used by traffickers varied and included not only the commonly defined structural isolation in which victims are restricted physically and socially, but also included a shrinking of safe social space and an elimination of privacy and social support. The latter, which we label as functional isolation, refers to instances when survivors are surrounded by peers who are either unreliable or aligned with the trafficker and thus are unable to give true social support. Survivors reported a combination of isolation tactics (i.e., both structural isolation and functional isolation). The different interwoven types and patterns of isolation reported by former victims of trafficking help address a dearth in the coercive control and abuse literature, providing a richer understanding of isolation in trafficking survivors.

中文翻译：

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功能隔离：了解贩卖幸存者的隔离

对被贩运受害者的性剥削的研究不能在不了解他们被强迫隔离的情况下进行。为了更好地了解隔离的动态，本研究调查了人贩子如何使用不同的隔离元素，以及这些策略如何有助于人贩子成功地保持对受害者的控制。我们研究了 14 名年龄在 20 到 53 岁之间的女性（主要是移民）的深入叙述，她们是从一个大城市的性交易受害者服务机构招募的。贩运者使用的策略各不相同，不仅包括通常定义的结构隔离，在这种隔离中受害者在身体和社交上受到限制，而且还包括缩小安全的社交空间以及消除隐私和社会支持。后者，我们将其称为功能隔离，是指幸存者被不可靠或与贩运者结盟的同龄人所包围，因此无法提供真正的社会支持。幸存者报告了隔离策略的组合（即结构隔离和功能隔离）。前人口贩运受害者报告的不同的交织类型和孤立模式有助于解决强制性控制和虐待文献的缺乏问题，提供了对人口贩运幸存者孤立的更丰富的理解。