How Can Being Trauma Informed Help with Human Trafficking?

January is Human Trafficking Prevention month. Due to the phenomenon of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) it is in alignment with the CHERP team values and mission to recognize and call attention to this important problem. CHERP also takes an explicitly trauma informed approach to all our work. But what does human trafficking and trauma informed approaches have to do with each other?

Trauma is important to the issue of human trafficking in two main stages: prevention and aftermath. People who have experienced trauma (think Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs) are more vulnerable to being trafficked. A trauma informed perspective may enable us to identify and intervene with potential targets of traffickers after trauma has occurred. What people need after trauma is to be supported by others in resolving said trauma so the negative effects of trauma on the brain are mitigated. 

When people are liberated from their traffickers, they then need to recover from the sometimes extreme trauma they likely suffered during the experience. Awareness of these phenomena enable us to potentially stop some trafficking from happening, and to facilitate healing and recovery of those who have been trafficked.



For more information on PACES (ACEs but including positive experiences that build resilience) click here. For a more information on trauma informed approaches to trafficking click here. For a more in depth look click on this document provided by the National Center on Trauma-Informed Care.

January is National Stalking Awareness Month.

Did you know that 1 in 3 Women will experience Stalking within their lifetime?

or

1 in 6 Men will experience Stalking within their lifetime?

To bring awareness to this topic, there are many ways you can be an advocate.

See the following links for resources below. For additional information you can visit the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center here. Additionally, you can select any of the links below.

Yá’atéeh. Shí eí Donald Chee yinishyé. Tá’chííní nishłí, Ashiihí báshíshchiin, Kinłíchíiní dashi chei doo Tá’baahá dashi nalí. Tse’łichíí Da’askaní dee ei t’aayisi naashá.  

(Greetings, my name is Donald Chee. My clans are Red Running Into the Water, born for the Salt People, my maternal/paternal grandparents are the Redhouse and Near the Water People. I am originally from Red Valley, Arizona.) 

It’s an honor to join the AAIHB family as the new Program Coordinator for the National Native HIV Network. I bring over ten years of experience working in HIV/HepC/STI prevention education in rural and urban settings. I also have five years of experience advocating for the rights and protections of our Native relatives with disabilities and children who’ve become victims of abuse and neglect. My educational background includes a B.A. degree in Native American and Indigenous Studies from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO., and a M.A. in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ.  

We’ve come a long way since I began working in HIV education in the late 1990s as a volunteer community outreach worker. I’m grateful to have worked with many amazing pioneers in HIV prevention education, from whom I learned that the keys to being an effective community educator is to create inclusive spaces, and to always respect the cultures, languages, and histories of all people. With that, I look forward to working alongside everyone at AAIHB in various capacities to increase Hozho (harmony and balance) and resiliency in our communities. 



Ahe’hee doo nizhonígo nee adoo’aał! (Thank you and have the best day!)