Conference

Trauma and Race Within Human Trafficking: The Power to Heal

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Abstract

One of the most significant traumas imaginable is sex trafficking. Research demonstrates individuals with intersecting identities such as female and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) are at greatest risk of being trafficked. This session will explore an individual’s ability to increase personal resilience- a key in trauma recovery. New insights offer pathways for healing trauma. Evolving collaboration between researchers, scientists, neurologists, and psychologists have resulted in our current understanding of trauma’s impact on us emotionally, physically, and genetically. Epigenetics tells the story of how our lived experiences and our environmental lifestyle can change the way our DNA and genetic traits are passed down intergenerationally. For example, science demonstrates when one generation is food insecure, the next four generations of the family will struggle with ‘unexplained’ food worries, despite an abundance of food. We will discuss the process of skill building to ‘hear’ our central nervous system and how this in the moment insight can move us toward emotional and physical healing for ourselves and generations to come.