GVSU Occupational Therapy
What is Culture?
There is no typical profile for trafficking victims. Labor and sex trafficking occur with all ages in rural, suburban, or urban communities across the country and around the world. Even in Michigan, victims of human trafficking have diverse socio-economic backgrounds, varied levels of education, and may be documented or undocumented.
Although there is no common culture between human trafficking victims in the traditional sense of the word, there are commonalities that create a bond between victims/survivors. There are also common values and ways of life in the world of human trafficking that impact the lives of those being trafficked. Traffickers use physical and psychological control to get victims to trust and rely on them and then they exploit them for money and status. These control tactics are displayed in varying ways, and create a toxic environment and culture for those impacted.
Cultural Factors in the Lives of Trafficking Victims
Human trafficking is often called "modern day slavery", because its origin in the U.S. began back in the 19th century when colonialism and imperialism led to the African slave trade. However, slavery then was not a new concept. People have been in slavery for as long as there has been civilization, and can date back to some of the earliest records of human history. Slavery has looked differently in different cultures and time periods, but the concept seems to be engrained into the human existence. Although ancient slavery has been illegal in most parts of the world for many years, human trafficking has taken its place, and perpetuated the culture of superiority, exploitation, and violence. (Oster & Suson, 2016)
Victims of human trafficking come from all different socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds, but those of low SES and those who live in poverty or are homeless are more vulnerable to being trafficked. Traffickers prey on vulnerable populations with the promise of a better life, only to make them dependent on them and indebted to them. (The Human Trafficking Hotline)
Healthcare is not a priority of traffickers to provide to the people they traffic. Basic healthcare is commonly denied to people who are being trafficked, and healthcare is only potentially sought out in emergency situations (Gorman & Hatkevich, 2016).
Because many people who are trafficked are of school-going age, they are either taken out of school or are already out of school due to poverty of homelessness. Education is not valued by the traffickers, and so the victims are typically deprived of formal education.
Historical Factors
Education
Access to Healthcare
Socioeconomic Considerations
Parenting
In some cases, human trafficking victims are taken away from their families when they already have children, and other times, especially in the sex trafficking industry, people have children while they are being trafficked. The children then suffer neglect and trauma and are often trafficked themselves.
Values
Victims are typically restricted in their communication to the outside world. Their cell phones are taken away, they are not given access to outside information.
Communication
Ethnic Communities
Traffickers value money and status. They gain power from exploiting others and they do not care what they do or who they hurt in the process. Victims value survival, and they are not allowed to value much else.
Traffickers and their victims often share the same national, ethnic, or cultural background, allowing the trafficker to better understand and exploit the vulnerabilities of their victims.
(Gorman & Hatkevich, 2016).
(The Human Trafficking Hotline)
