I believe in learning lessons that are daily reminders of something
that either one has not contemplated or a lesson that has been ignored and
needs to be re-framed, re-examined and put to use. At a presentation a few days
ago I was speaking to a group of people, men, women, and even children, who
actually came out on a Saturday evening to discuss what trafficking would mean
in their world. As I spoke about
vulnerabilities, I observed a woman and her adolescent daughter sitting next to
each other. They simultaneously
reached out to one another, raised their hands ever so slightly, and then held
on …ever so comfortably. This happened three other times and the message was
strong. Safety.
My thoughts almost instantly were about how safety is a fundamental
and persistent need for re-assurance that victims have both a physical and
psychological need to continually be shown, talked to about, and be reassured
of this for a long time.
As I watched the mother and daughter, I knew right away that there was
another lesson to be learned.
I immediately started to think about those working in anti-
trafficking. A field where human
trafficking is ill defined and thought to exist only in a third World County,
where support systems are often non-existent and unavailable, and where public
attitudes confuse the victim with the offender.
I thought of the workers and volunteers who inwardly share an extraordinary
compassionate point of view. Yet,
their depth of compassion makes them more vulnerable to emotional exhaustion,
depression, anxiety, and even isolation from those around you not in this
particular field. I was
reminded again that those of us working in this field also need a safety net. We need access to a strong support
system and need to be reminded about such things as vicarious trauma and the
importance of taking time for ourselves.
Vicarious trauma means that there needs to be attention to the trauma
triggers that each of us share from situations and stories that even those
closest to us will never know or maybe even hear. We know that the vivid
stories we hear are recessed somewhere in our subconscious brain. Yet, we usually don’t take time to think
about how they may be affecting our lives and the self-care practices we should
be doing.
We need to revisit those self-care practices that we probably have neglected
and discarded. I call those “I
USED TO…” practices, probably borrowed from a police counselor who would ask
the questions, “What do you like to do, outside of work?” It is easy enough to list activities
such as exercise, read, meditate, self-reflection, journal, golf, fish, etc. The problem occurs when asked
when was the last time you actually did these on a regular basis? Most of our responses would be “I used
to….” Those activities, which had such meaning at one time maybe, are parked in
the back place. No longer in the ballpark, you know, the place where we used to
love to go and pay attention to a GAME.
As organizations we need to ask ourselves if we are providing a
support system for anti-trafficking workers and volunteers. Are we offering continuing education? Are we initiating opportunities for collaboration,
because we are more powerful when we work together as a team? Are we documenting best practices
and putting them into writing? Do
we have strategies in place that focus on the well being of our workers and
volunteers? Including free counseling, because “no one gets to take a vacation
from the reality of working in the human trafficking field.” Sometimes we just need someone to
listen to help convince us that the whole world is not one of really horrible
things happening everywhere.
For myself, this learning lesson caught this time around. I want to keep it alive on the agenda
of the Task Force and find ways to seek out relief and support for those in the
movement for the “long haul”. I will remember the visualization of the hands
joining together and the unspoken words implying safety.
Jane P. White is the Director and Founder of the Michigan Human
Trafficking Task Force, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State
University. jane.white@ssc.msu.edu
