The Gaps We Still Haven’t Closed: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Trafficking Survivors
Nearly two decades ago, as an undergraduate intern at the only domestic violence shelter in a major city, I had my first encounter with the complex psychological needs of human trafficking survivors. Fresh into social work, I was eager to learn and contribute. Later, in my full-time role on the crisis team, I answered calls from women in the immediate aftermath of violent assaults, desperate for safety. Sometimes, the violence was still unfolding as they reached out. I believed in the work we were doing. I respected the nonprofit I worked for. But it didn’t take long to see the systemic gaps in services—failures that extended far beyond the reach of any one organization. Nearly twenty years later, many of those gaps remain. Who Gets Access to Care—And Who Doesn’t One of the most glaring failures was the lack of support for male survivors of domestic violence. When men called for help, my job was to safety plan and connect them to resources. But there were none. The only option I could ...