The Importance of Trauma Informed Care in Anti-Trafficking Work

Abstract: Many of us have learned about trauma and trauma informed care through academic or training settings, or see this language included in every grant or program description we see. Or maybe we hear the buzzwords but don’t really know how this is (or needs to be!) part of our daily anti-trafficking work. Using language of trauma informed care doesn’t mean we have the tools to implement truly trauma informed practice with survivors of trafficking. What does being trauma informed with survivors look like? What doesn’t it look like? This session will discuss foundations of trauma informed care, and why providing trauma-informed, victim centered services with survivors of trafficking is critical. The session will also provide concrete strategies to integrate core values of trauma informed care into your work with survivors, and minimize potential for retraumatization.