What is it about?
The chapter defines the human trafficking of women and girls in the United States within a historical, psychological, and social context. The author presents three cases that represent two types of human trafficking scenarios, the iconic (Srikantiah, 2007) and the overlooked person. Next, the author connects the issue of human trafficking to the slavery of the past in the United States. The author also reviews salient vulnerabilities to human trafficking with attention to contextual, structural, and individual factors. In a section on recruitment methods, psychological coercion is the focus of discussion and how it informs existing legal constructs of human trafficking. The author proposes that the overlooked victim construct represents cases in which the victim is made invisible by a combination of psychological and social factors. In closing, the author offers an evolving psychosocial–historical definition of human trafficking.
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Why is it important?
The chapter offers an expanded definition of human trafficking that liberates it from the constraints of legal definitions. A definition informed by the historical, social, and psychological factors relevant to human trafficking is better suited to working with people with experiences of exploitation in health care and social service settings.
Perspectives
Anti-trafficking work and the constructs used to carry out and develop services need to be informed by the lived experiences of people with histories of exploitation and human trafficking, which is represented by a position of psychopolitical validity (Prilleltensky, 2008). I hope that readers will see the value of using a stance of psychopolitical validity to define the problems of those afflicted by exploitation. At its best, the spirit of psychopolitical validity can elevate the contributions of the marginalized into knowledge that is applied to promote wellbeing and freedom from oppression.
Paola Contreras
William James College
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This page is a summary of: Human trafficking of women and girls in the United States: Toward an evolving psychosocial-historical definition., American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/0000060-010.
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