Abstract
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery, yet it largely goes unnoticed by U.S.-based counselors. Although often overlooked, an increasing number of governmental entities document escalation in cases of human trafficking in the U.S. Counselors are in a unique position to address survivors of human trafficking needs due to their distinctive skill set. However, a general unawareness of human trafficking in the U.S. limits counselors with this population. This article focuses on increasing U.S.-based counselors’ awareness of human trafficking, forms of trafficking, prevalence in the U.S., assessment, and treatment for survivors. A case scenario and implications section conclude the article.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arhin, A. (2016). A diaspora approach to understanding human trafficking for labor exploitation. Journal of Human Trafficking, 2, 78–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2016.1136538.
Ark of Hope for Children (2017). What rescued child sex trafficking victims need: Needs of rescued child trafficking survivors. Retrieved from http://arkofhopeforchildren.org/child-trafficking/what-rescued-child-sex-trafficking-victims-need
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Bass, J., Bearup, L., Bolton, P., Murray, K., & Skavenski, S. (2011). Implementing trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF- CBT) among formerly trafficked-sexually exploited and sexually abused girls in Cambodia: A feasibility study. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: World Vision. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/11386153/TF-CBT_Feasibility_Study_Cambodia
Burt, I. (2015). Transcending traditional group work: Using the Brazilian martial art of capoeira as a clinical therapeutic group for culturally diverse adolescents. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 40, 187–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933922.2015.1017068.
Choi-Fitzpatrick, A. (2016). The good, the bad, the ugly: Human rights violators in comparative perspective. Journal of Human Trafficking, 2, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2016.1136166.
Clawson, H. J., Dutch, N., Solomon, A., & Grace, L. G. (2009). Human trafficking into and within the United States: A review of the literature. Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Human and Heath Services. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/humantrafficking/LitRev.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., Kliethermes, M., & Murray, L.A. (2012). Trauma-focused CBT for youth with complex trauma. Child Abuse & Neglect, 36, 528-541.
Cook, A. L., Krell, M. M., Hayden, L. A., Gracia, R., & Denitzio, K. (2016). Fieldwork using the professional development schools model: Developing a social justice orientation and multicultural competency. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44, 176–188.
Deblinger, E., Pollio, E., Runyon, M. K., & Steer, R. A. (2017). Improvements in personal resiliency among youth who have completed trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy: A preliminary examination. Child Abuse & Neglect, 65, 132–139.
Dell, N. A., Maynard, B. R., Born, K. R., Wagner, E., Atkins, B., & House, W. (2017). Helping survivors of human trafficking: A systematic review of exit and postexit interventions. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 1–14. Advance online publication. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017692553.
Denton, E. (2016). Anatomy of offending: Human trafficking in the United States, 2006–2011. Journal of Human Trafficking, 2, 32–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2016.1136540.
Dolan-Reilly, G. (2014, June 13). First ever validated tool to identify victims of human trafficking released. Social Justice Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2014/06/13/first-ever-validated-tool-identify-victims-human-trafficking-released/
Dorsey, S., Pullmann, M. D., Berliner, L., Koschmann, E. F., McKay, M., & Deblinger, E. (2014). Engaging foster parents in treatment: A randomized trial of supplementing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy with evidence-based engagement strategies. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38, 1508–1520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.03.020.
Dubrawski, A., Miller, K., Barnes, M., Boecking, B., & Kennedy, E. (2015). Leveraging publicly available data to discern patterns of human-trafficking activity. Journal of Human Trafficking, 1, 65–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2015.1015342.
Food Chain Workers Alliance (2012). The hands that fed us: Challenges and opportunities for workers on the food chain. Retrieved from http://foodchainworkers.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Hands-That-Feed-Us-Report.pdf
Foot, K. A., Toft, A., & Cesare, N. (2015). Developments in anti-trafficking efforts: 2008–2011. Journal of Human Trafficking, 1, 136–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2014.980663.
Ford, M. (2015). Trade unions, forced labour and human trafficking, Anti-Trafficking Review, 5, 11–29. Retrieved from http://gaatw.org/ATR/AntiTraffickingReview_issue5.pdf
Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women. (2015, October). Unmet needs: Emotional support and care after trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.gaatw.org/publications/GAATW_Briefing_Paper_Unmet_Needs.10.2015.pdf
Global Centurion. (2014). SOAR training on human trafficking for health care professionals. Retrieved from http://www.globalcenturion.org/programs/educationawarenessadvocacy/soar-training-on-human-trafficking-for-health-care-providers/
Global Centurion. (2016). Street gangs and modern slavery. Retrieved from http://www.globalcenturion.org/programs/researchanddevelopment/streetgangs/
Gotch, K. (2016). Preliminary data on a sample of perpetrators of domestic trafficking for sexual exploitation: Suggestions for research and practice. Journal of Human Trafficking, 2, 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2016.1136539.
International Labor Organization. (2016). Who are domestic workers? Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/global/docs/WCMS_209773/lang%2D%2Den/index.htm
Kempadoo, K. (2015). The modern-day white (wo) man’s burden: Trends in anti-trafficking and anti-slavery campaigns. Journal of Human Trafficking, 1, 8–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2015.1006120.
Lederer, L. J. (2011). Sold for sex: The link between street gangs and trafficking in persons. The Protection Project Journal of Human Rights and Civil Society, 1–20. Retrieved from http://www.globalcenturion.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Sold-for-Sex-The-Link-between-Street-Gangs-and-Trafficking-in-Persons-1.pdf
Lederer, L. J., & Wetzel, C. A. (2014). The health consequences of sex trafficking and their implications for identifying victims in healthcare facilities. Annals of Health Law, 23, 61–91 Retrieved from http://www.globalcenturion.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/The-Health-Consequences-of-Sex-Trafficking.pdf.
Lee, C. Y. S., Anderson, J. R., & Klimes-Dougan, B. (2016). Potentially traumatic experiences, academic performance, and psychological distress: The role of shame. Journal of Counseling & Development, 94, 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.1206.
Midgett, A., & Doumas, D. M. (2016). Evaluation of service-learning-infused courses with refugee families. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44, 118–134. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12041.
National Human Trafficking Resource Center. (2016). What is human trafficking? Retrieved from http://traffickingresourcecenter.org/
O’Callaghan, P., McMullen, J., Shannon, C., Rafferty, H., & Black, A. (2013). New research: A randomized controlled trial of trauma- focused cognitive behavioral therapy for sexually exploited, war- affected Congolese girls. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52, 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.01.013.
Polaris Project. (2016). The facts. Retrieved from: polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/facts. Accessed 24 October 2018.
Pourmokhtari, N. (2015). Global human trafficking unmasked: A feminist rights-based approach. Journal of Human Trafficking, 1, 156–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2014.1000078.
Ravas, B., Bardo, M., Bennett, C., Conley, A., Sanders, J., Sightes, H., & Graham, J. (2018). Suicide Prevention for Students: A Comprehensive School Counseling Perspective. Retrieved from: https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/16064/Final%20Completed%20Project%20Including%20Appendix.pdf?sequence=1
Rose, J.S. (2017, March). Human trafficking and implications for professional counseling. Webinar presented by the Global Institute for Simulation Training..
Stotts, E. L., & Ramey, L. (2009). Human trafficking: A call for counselor awareness and action. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 48, 36–47.
The United Nations. (2017). The United Nations human rights: Office of the high commissioner. Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/Home.aspx.
Thompson, J., & Haley, M. (2018). Human trafficking: Preparing counselors to work with survivors. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 1–12. Advance online publication. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s1044.
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106–386, Div. A, § 108, 114 Stat. 1464 (2000).
Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Protection Act of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113–4, § 201, 127 Stat. 54 (2013).
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). SOAR to health and wellness training. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/endtrafficking/initiatives/soar
U.S. Department of State. (June, 2016). Trafficking in persons report. Meeting the global challenge: Effective strategies to prevent human trafficking. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/258876.pdf
U.S. Department of State. (June, 2017). Trafficking in persons report. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/271339.pdf
Vera Institute of Justice. (2014). Screening for human trafficking: Guidelines for administering the Trafficking Victim Identification Tool (TVIT). Retrieved from https://storage.googleapis.com/vera-web-assets/downloads/Publications/out-of-the-shadows-identification-of-victims-of-human-trafficking/legacy_downloads/human-trafficking-identification-tool-and-user-guidelines.pdf
World Health Organization. (2012). Understanding and addressing violence against women: Human trafficking. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77394/1/WHO_RHR_12.42_eng.pdf?ua=1
Young-Cho, S. Y. (2015). Evaluating policies against human trafficking worldwide: An overview and review of the 3P index. Journal of Human Trafficking, 1, 86–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2015.1014660.
Zimmerman, C., & Borland, R. (2009). Caring for trafficked persons: Guidance for health providers [DX Reader version]. Retrieved from http://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/ct_handbook.pdf
Zimmerman, C., & Watts, C. (2003). WHO ethical and safety recommendations for interviewing trafficked women. World Health Organization, Geneva. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mip/2003/other_documents/en/Ethical_Safety-GWH.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The author declared there is no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burt, I. Modern-Day Slavery in the U.S.: Human Trafficking and Counselor Awareness. Int J Adv Counselling 41, 187–200 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-018-9366-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-018-9366-7