Human trafficking is a global problem that mainly affects women, as 65% of trafficking victims are women and girls. Transpersonal therapist and writer, Raquel Caspi Miller, published her third book this year: The Moon Star. A non-fiction novel about the story of Luna, one of his patients, a survivor of human trafficking.
Raquel -whose training includes a Diploma in Human Trafficking and is currently studying a Doctorate in Social Development- spoke with Forbes Mexico and he commented that the great problem of trafficking in our country is that we have normalized it.
According to the United Against Trafficking Commission, in the country, 6 out of 10 individuals are vulnerable to human trafficking due to conditions of violence and precariousness.
To reduce the normalization of human trafficking practices, the author emphasizes four lines of action to combat this phenomenon.
Location of the problem
Caspi assures that trafficking is an issue that bothers us so much that we decided to hide it. This means that we are not clear about what human trafficking consists of and what its modalities are.
“If a child comes to ask us for money, many times we don’t even look at it because it hurts. But then it becomes normal for us that children pass by on the street who are being forced to work and we no longer see it. ” Speaking specifically of forced begging, Raquel recommends offering the child something to eat and reporting his approximate age and location to the authorities, so that they can investigate what is happening to him.
Raquel Caspi mentions that far from denouncing cases of trafficking, we prefer to judge and assume that if people carry out these jobs it is because they decided to do so. “When you don’t know that 90% of what looks like prostitution is trafficking, you think that going to table dances is normal. But the reality is that these women are slaves who have to comply with a quota, and if you go to those places you are contributing to the problem ”.
The writer emphasizes the importance of reporting trafficking cases, so that these become visible and the need to build more shelters for survivors of this crime grows. Well, of the 32 states in Mexico, only 8 have one.
It may interest you: Wendy Figueroa, director of the National Shelter Network: ‘In Mexico violence is justified and naturalized’
Openness to dialogue with children and adolescents
For Raquel Caspi, it is effective for families to talk with children to make them see that they must be constantly vigilant.
The writer mentions that teaching your children not to talk to them or accept sweets from strangers is no longer enough, because, due to the pandemic, trafficking increased a lot online. She recommends explaining to minors that spreading personal data and photos over the internet is dangerous, since it is not possible to know who may be behind the screens.
“We are very afraid to enter this conversation with our children because we think it will be super intense, but the truth is that they catch it very fast. Sometimes, really, the fear of addressing these issues is more than what happens afterwards. “
The writer emphasizes that the key to good communication is to build the confidence in children to talk with their parents. “Hooking up is very easy with children because they get a photo and they are already threatening them, so we have to let them know that if they make a mistake, nothing happens, but they have to tell us so that we can help them solve it.”
Learn to ask for help
The therapist assures that part of the problems faced by survivors of trafficking is that it is difficult for them to overcome all the traumas they experienced and return to life as they knew it “they return and they are neither here nor there,” says Caspi.
Therefore, the main recommendation that Raquel gives for survivors of trafficking is to seek support groups or psychological help that can help them cope and express their pain. “Asking for help is for the strong, not for the weak. And that’s the narrative that we have to change. Just as we say if it is the foot one goes to the Orthopedist, if it is the stomach one goes to the Gastroenterologist, if it is the throat one goes to the ENT, likewise we must say, if it is mental health one goes to the specialists of mental health. “
Raquel mentions that victims of trafficking tend to feel anger and frustration because of what happened to them, but stresses that her therapies are not focused on seeking answers, but on helping to solve: “the reason for the things that happen to us many times we do not know , because it is not in us. What is in us is the how. And to solve how we need good strategies, but also psychological support. “
Empathy with the victims
The writer mentions that it is very difficult for survivors of trafficking to regain their lives, because those who manage to return face many attacks. “In the case of Luna (her patient about whom she wrote her book) it was awful because she was in high school, and when she went back to her school, the principal stood outside and said ‘you can’t come in because you’re a bad influence on the girls. other girls, because you are a bad girl and you asked for it. » Director!”
He mentions that not only the victims experience re-victimization by society, but that many times the family members are also repudiated and tried. So as a society we need to understand the big picture of trafficking to know what they are dealing with. “Empathy is the opposite of judgment, because it is very easy for us to judge another’s life when in reality we have no idea.”
What Raquel recommends if you have contact with a survivor of trafficking, is that the approach be from empathy to help them make their return more bearable and, at the same time, learn and reflect on their experiences
“For me, having this closeness with Luna, handling this pain with her and trying to transform it has been something that has transformed me as well. So I say, I can’t keep quiet, we have to do something, “says Raquel Caspi, who wrote her book with the aim of donating all the royalties from her book to trafficking shelters.
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