Social Work and Human Trafficking – an Introduction from a Trauma-Informed Perspective

Course description
Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery. It is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. In the U.S., trafficking victims are almost exclusively immigrants– the majority of which are women. This seminar will help participants understand what human trafficking is, in what forms it occurs and how social work can respond without re-traumatizing survivors.

From a trauma-informed perspective, participants will engage with the intersectional phenomenon of human trafficking and take part in an informed discussion of how social work can work towards empowerment and social change. Participants will investigate intersectional injustices and social work practices on micro, mezzo and macro levels.

Examining diverse materials, we will develop empowering hands-on social work tools and acquire a critical perspective on well-intentioned social work interventions that, while aiming to help victims, might instead cause victims arrest, incarceration, family separation and/or deportation. This seminar will include discussions of cultural dynamics and the cultural appropriateness of various clinical social work interventions. Reflecting on the appropriateness of advocacy tools will include understanding demand, prevalence, experiences of survivors, types of human trafficking, trafficking methods as well as national and global power dynamics.

Skills acquired in this seminar strengthen clinical social work practices that work towards empowerment and are informed by cultural awareness, respect and the aim to provide trauma-informed care and harm reduction. The exploration of these ideas takes into account issues of culture, power, privilege and oppression.

4 sessions on 4/08, 4/15, 4/22 and 4/29
12 CEs for Social Workers and Psychologists