Season 6: Episode 6 - Dr Heather Evans Expert Contributor

With insight, compassion, and conviction, Dr Evans reminds us that change begins not with a rescue, but with relationship—and that listening is an act of justice.

Show Notes:

• Understanding Complex Trauma and Post-Traumatic Growth in Survivors of Sex Trafficking: Foregrounding Women’s Voices for Effective Care and Prevention (Routledge Research in Women’s Mental Health) by Heather Evans
• In Our First Lives by Diane Langberg
• Voices of Survivors Project 

Self-Care Resources:

• Christian Trauma Healing Network, Tools and Handouts
• Self-Regulation for Daily Triggers
• The Essential Skill to Regulate Your Nervous System
• Therapy in a Nutshell
• Justice From the Victim’s Perspective by Judith Herman
• Honoring the Truth: A Response to the Backlash by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis
• Escaping Enemy Mode by Dr Jim Wilder

Informational Resources:

• Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion
• RAINN.org - Informational Support for sexual abuse survivors
• On the Threshold of Hope by Diane Langberg
• Escaping High-Control Religious Groups

Safe To Hope is one of the resources offered through the ministry of Help[H]er, a 501C3 that provides training and resources for those ministering in one-another care, and advocacy for women in crisis in Christian organizations. Your donations make it possible for Help[H]er to serve as they navigate crises. All donations are tax-deductible.

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We value and respect conversations with all our guests. Opinions, viewpoints, and convictions may differ so we encourage our listeners to practice discernment. As well, guests do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of HelpHer. It is our hope that this podcast is a platform for hearing and learning rather than causing division or strife.

Please note, abuse situations have common patterns of behavior, responses, and environments. Any familiarity construed by the listener is of their own opinion and interpretation. Our podcast does not accuse individuals or organizations.

The podcast is for informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional care, diagnosis, or treatment.

Transcript

Ann Maree
We bear witness as we listen. One of our goals throughout this series is to help the audience understand specifically knowing good from evil, but also have compassion, exhibit empathy and acquire the ability to minister to those in need.

Dr Evans, again, thank you for helping us and our audience understand and even comprehend sex trafficking and the circumstances, the victims, the survivors. I have confidence this information will only serve to help us care for those impacted and their loved ones at least a little bit better. 

Ann Maree
Welcome. Dr Evans, 

Dr. Evans
Thank you so much. It's such an honor to be with you today. 

Ann Maree
Absolutely our honor as well. As I always say, is there anything else besides what I've provided that you would like to say to the audience that you could help them get to know you better?

Dr. Evans 
Sure. I guess I would just say, you know, my day to day job is, I have a group therapy practice, and I'm focused there and working with a variety of clients and overseeing a team of therapists. And really, I would say the thing that all of my work— whether it's at my practice or my volunteer work— the common thread is trauma. I care about working with clients who've experienced sexual abuse, domestic abuse, adult clergy, sexual abuse, sex trafficking. And really care also about informing other providers and communities about trauma and trauma informed care, and that's my passion. I did some research on trafficking survivors and complex trauma and post traumatic growth, and have a book (Understanding Complex Trauma and Post-Traumatic Growth in Survivors of Sex Trafficking: Foregrounding Women’s Voices for Effective Care and Prevention) that came out of that, and want to do everything possible to amplify the voices of survivors and their lived experiences, both the impact of the trauma but the post traumatic growth they've experienced as well. 

Ann Maree
Yeah, and that is so important to us as caregivers, lay counselors as well as therapists, and so we will make sure that that book title is also in the show notes.

So you mentioned overseeing a group of therapists. Is, is that all? Or what else are you currently working on?

Dr. Evans 
Oh, I, you know, I always have my hands in different things, in terms of taking opportunities to train, either regionally or sometimes internationally on trauma-informed care. I've traveled really quite annually to East Africa. I don't have a trip planned this year, but have some virtual trainings planned for some non profit organizations there, in fact, one that works with women coming out of prostitution. So that's something on the horizon.

I'll share a little bit later about the Voices of Survivors Project, and have two projects working on for that. One is in the local region where I live, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and then the other is hopefully in Rwanda, doing a project with survivors there using photography to express their lived experiences. So always have some other things I'm thinking about, but those are some, some things on the current horizon. 

Oh, that is very cool. Spreading the love across Rwanda. That's perfect. So thank you. Thanks for sharing. And then just also, I've said this enough beforehand, but on the air, I wanted to say thank you for participating in this podcast series. It's been heavy on us as an organization hearing it, and yet, I know people like you in therapy full time hear stories like this all the time, and so you carry those burdens with you regularly, and to then do it for us again on this podcast, we really appreciate your participation.  

Yeah, it's it's an honor. I will say that to to listen, to sit with is costly, but it's also a privilege. It's a privilege for both the one that's listening and the one that's being listened to. And I found that in preparation for this, and listening to Carya's story, I am just already humbled and amazed by her courage, the articulate and way that she shares her story. And we have much to learn, even though it may be uncomfortable and painful, we have much to learn.

Ann Maree
That is the word that's. The statement that we need to hear, much to learn, and it is uncomfortable, and it is painful for her too. This season has brought out even more for the audience. It's going to be painful to hear so

So again, our our episode here today is on focusing on the sex trafficking part of the story, which Carya spoke about in story one, but we will come to realize that her story progresses over the coming months into multiple abuses that she endured. So there's a little bit of crossover on what we'll talk about today, but predominantly want to get at the information that we need to know about sex trafficking. It's really important to isolate this kind of victimization, because it represents itself in multiple ways. You know, we can talk about prostitution, we can talk about children that are kidnapped, but also we can talk about it in the context of this story. And I'm really glad that it's you that's here that's helping us understand. 

So perhaps, could you just start out with giving us broad brush strokes of what sex trafficking looks like, especially here in the United States, and then I'll follow up with who's involved in that kind of industry. 

Dr Evans
Okay, yeah, so sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking. There's two main forms of human trafficking, sex and labor, but we're going to focus on sex trafficking, and this is in which individuals are forced, coerced or deceived, into engaging in commercial sex acts. So when we say commercial sex acts, that means the commercial sex industry, where there is an exchange of goods or money for sex. So sex trafficking involves the exploitation of victims, often through threats violence, manipulation or fraud by traffickers who profit from their sexual exploitation. And in the definition, the key phrases are force, fraud or coercion. However, it is important to know that under law, our definition of sex trafficking, you do not need to prove force, fraud or coercion. For someone under the age of 18, if they are under the age of 18, they are automatically considered a victim. So the law also is— I'm trying to simplify it, it's much more complicated than even the complicated definition I read— because it includes things like recruitment, transportation, provision, obtaining. Basically, you want to prove that there's an act, a sexual acts with an act with an exchange of good or service. There's a means, and then there's a purpose, and you want to prove force, fraud or coercion. So the law can apply with all of those words I just mentioned, it can apply to buyers. It can apply to traffickers, even transporters or those who work at businesses and know about some type of an exchange of sex act that's going on. 

Victims of sex trafficking can be any age, gender or background. I will probably throughout today, because our storyteller is female, I will probably use the pronouns she and her, though it is important to know that there are boys and men who are victims of sex trafficking as well, and really even though anyone and everyone can be a victim, we notice that those who have particularly vulnerabilities, such as being marginalized, are most at risk. So this could be children, particularly those children who already have a history of sexual abuse. This could be those who are on the streets either, because they were kind of thrown away— nobody, you know, they left home and nobody went looking for them. They're homeless persons of color and the LGBTQ population are just some examples of those who are marginalized and therefore, specifically, a bit more vulnerable. I think one other thing I will say just off the bad of what does it look like in the US that term trafficking can be a bit deceiving, and that we think it sounds like a person needs to be moved from place to place, like country to country or state to state, or town to town. That does happen, but it's really the trafficking of person. So can happen within a home. It can happen within a neighborhood. Trafficking might include those illicit massage parlors. If you see a massage parlor that pops up in your neighborhood that looks a bit shady, but it also is very common on online platforms. It happens in hotels. It happens in houses. It can be street based prostitution, but a lot of times it's happening behind closed doors, specifically with online platforms now. 

Ann Maree
Okay, repeat that forced— you said three things, forced…

Dr Evans
Forced, fraud, coercion are there three things that need to be proven in order for it to be described as trafficking. So someone that is forced, they are tricked or coerced into commercial sex acts— the exchange of money or goods for sex. 

Ann Maree
That's helpful. Yeah, that's very helpful. Because we, I don't think we talked about it yet, but we will be talking about what is it actually illegal. And also, thank you for bringing up even though our storyteller this season is a woman, she does talk about the intentional community that she was a part of, and that did include small children, but also boys, not just girls, and also just great information about who's most at risk. That kind of gives us a target for who to watch and be caring for in our churches or in our communities, in our neighborhoods.

Dr Evans
Absolutely anytime, for example, that we are working to protect the vulnerabilities of children from childhood sexual abuse, for example, or anytime we see particular children that seem to be more vulnerable for various reasons, and we seek to protect them through mentorship or through just having good policies in place, or through reporting suspected child abuse— we may inadvertently be preventing child sex trafficking, and that and the reason for that is because in my work and in my research of survivors of sex trafficking, it's nearly 100% of childhood trauma, specifically childhood sexual abuse, it almost primes them to be vulnerable, to maybe not see the warning signs of somebody that is seasoning them or grooming them into sex trafficking. 

Ann Maree
Yeah, good point. Okay, so the vulnerable at risk, but other side of the coin, who, who's involved in this trafficking, the actual trafficking? What are the what are the types of people, or even if you have statistics or patterns, or, you know, danger signs, anything that would help us in the audience, know, for instance, you know, is that person not at risk, but in risk of perhaps engaging that way.

Dr Evans
So, yeah, I think just to try to classify a few different types of traffickers. So I think what's so difficult is it's complex, and it looks different every time. That's what I found, is it often looks so different, but individual traffickers that we might in our society glorify them a bit and call them pimps. Are those that manipulate and exploit individuals and recruit them into their group in order to then exploit them, and this is often done through false promises, particularly false promises of love, safety or financial stability. They often pose as boyfriends, pretend to be a romantic partner, and that could go on for years before they end up selling them. I cannot emphasize enough that traffickers use the tool of relationship to learn, to deceive, to coerce— which, when going back to that topic of vulnerability, who isn't vulnerable when it comes to relationship? God designed all of us to be loved, to want acceptance and belonging. So they make these promises of no one else will love you the way that I do. I will take care of you. I will look out for you. And eventually, they introduce, may introduce violence, physical and sexual, and then they introduce them to be exploited for their own gain. The other kind of forms of traffickers might be those who are more in organized crime groups and gangs, and they are part of a crime network, and they engage in trafficking as a lucrative enterprise. So they may be those— that it's connected to drug use, and they may force a person to be on drugs, which is another way that they then keep them connected. This individual is a drug dependency, and I've seen cases again and again where women are punished by being forced to go through withdrawal of something like heroin, or they're given a drug which enables them to both cope with what they're going through, but also be controlled and dependent upon the trafficker. And then, of course, in the case of our story of Carya, we have familial traffickers, and in this case, family members, parents, guardians, extended relatives, sell or exploit children or other family members for financial gain. Could be drug addiction or or other cultural reasons. And of course, this type of trafficking is especially difficult to detect because victims may not even see themselves as being trafficked. I find that so often with familial trafficking, it wasn't, it wasn't even named, that they didn't understand that that's actually what was going on. Of course, just a couple of other kinds of traffickers. Maybe there are business owners who they have a business that seems legitimate, if you will, massage parlor, strip clubs, escort services, modeling agency. All those things that may be legal to have those types of businesses, but it's actually a front for trafficking. There's actually exploitation going— well I believe that all of that is exploitation— but there's force, fraud or coercion going on as well, and that in those cases, victims may have been recruited thinking the job was going to be like this. And it turns out that the job is like this. And again, sometimes we see online traffickers, and that is just very common, where traffickers are using social media, dating apps, online advertisement to recruit, groom and sell victims. It may give them a promise of a job that turns out to be something else, or it may just be forming a relationship. These are just a few examples of types of traffickers, and it's really hard in terms of, like statistics. It's really hard to say, you know, how many of each you know, to kind of classify that in terms of statistics, or even to say how common sex trafficking is, because it's so so, so under reported and under named and difficult to prove, but it is cited often as being one of the fastest growing criminal industries globally. And the reason for that is because you can, sadly, sell a human being again and again and again. So there's low risks for perpetrators, there's substantial financial gain. And sadly, there's a high demand, and so often individuals get involved because of that power dynamic and the wealth dynamic. And of course, the pleasure dynamic.

Ann Maree
Right, which our storyteller does talk about that a bit. Can you press into the family controlled type of trafficking a little bit more if there's anything unique about it and how it works? I know Carya is going to talk about how it wasn't grooming, where as grooming can't— you're talking about the tool of relationship and how that grooming happens. But Carya will say she was not groomed, but you brought it up too. You said, you know, they can use pain to control anyway, I'm talking too much. Could you? Could you just press into a little bit more of the dynamics of family based trafficking?

Dr Evans
Absolutely, yeah, it sadly in family trafficking, it most typically starts at such an early age, and abuse is normalized as a part of the family structure. Children may be conditioned to believe that their role in the family just includes sexual exploitation. A lot of times this is multi-generational, so families have a history of generational abuse, where trafficking is not only tolerated, but it's expected, and they may view it as a means of survival or financial gain. Of course, another aspect of this dynamic of familial trafficking is that a victim may not realize they're being trafficked because of the manipulation, the fear, the lack of exposure to the outside world. There are many cases where they're actually homeschooled or they have limited social interactions, so it's difficult for outsiders to detect abuse. Perpetrators use their authority and emotional bonds to maintain that control. So that's so confusing. I mean, the damage is so deep because of that misuse of parental authority. They might even claim that the exploitation is an act of love or familial duty. There are financial incentives for familial trafficking. Family members may sell their children or relatives for money, drugs or housing, and in some cases, the entire household from the trafficking that creates additional barriers to the escape. So there are so many challenges that limit a person from getting out of it. 

So I'll just talk about a few of them. One would be the loyalty and the trauma bonds that are created. Trauma bond is this idea of a bond that's created because there's a mixture of love and affection with abuse and exploitation and pain and sometimes terror. And the dynamic of the bond is because there is a dependence. The person who is bonded to the other is dependent upon them, perhaps for their survival, and so sometimes victims don't leave because they feel a deep attachment to their family, even if they're being harmed. They may be conditioned to believe that this abuse is actually part of love or part of protection. Also victims, they fear the outside world, they fear police or social services, and this is most likely because they've been brainwashed to believe that they are not for their good. Probably the saddest aspect, though, is that most often with familial trafficking, there is a community that is enabling and involved, and we hear that in Carya’s story. So they literally don't have anywhere to go. And I've heard this again and again, “I can't go to my teachers, I can't go to the police, I can't go to a pastor. I can't go to a doctor.” Because they've been exploited by all of them. All of them have been customers or buyers, and so that is probably one of the most devastating facts is that, yes, familial trafficking is easy to hide, and it's kind of an insulated thing kept in the family, but it also happens in communities that are very, very much involved. 

Ann Maree
Yes, thank you for bringing that up. It is such a good point. I mean, we hear it in domestic abuse, why didn't she just leave? And this makes no sense to us. On the other side of sex trafficking, why don't they just run away? Why don't they just go somewhere else? And yes, we will hear this in Carya's story as well. Not everyone is trustworthy. All the places that you would think of to go which you just rattled off, they're not safe. They're customers. Thank you for fleshing that out even a bit more, perhaps, that with the new information coming out more about sex trafficking, we don't register that it can happen outside of kidnapping. I think that's the only category we've had for or it's been the most predominant. So I think we need to broaden our categories and thinking about this, this ill and evil.

Dr Evans
Well said, and I would see there's been a movement, even in those of us who've been doing this work. By the way, human trafficking wasn't defined till 2000. It is an age old issue, but if you think about it from that standpoint, it's still really young, with us identifying it and then deciding how to respond to it and how to prevent it. And what I can say in the movement, in of itself, is that we've become more nuanced with looking at familial trafficking, naming it and seeing it a lot more often than we did when the field just really just started. And I'm grateful for that. There are additional barriers, as I said, an additional impact, complex impact, on the victims of familial trafficking. 

Ann Maree
Yes, definitely. How do you? How do you even navigate how to think about a parent or relative who's harming you this way? 

Dr Evans
Absolutely. 

Ann Maree
Yeah. 

Dr Evans
Yeah. Carya is just so boldly sharing her story with us, and you can hear how much healing has taken place for her to even be able to share her story in the way that she has. And my heart grieves as I listen to her story, and I think the listeners will as well, because of the very entrenched distortion of things like family and love and seeking help and her own body, the boundaries of her own body and sexuality. So the damage can go so deep and really take layers and layers to heal from, not to mention just the confusion of of loyalty and commitment and things like that, and learning even how to trust and feel safe anywhere her own body, her own home or in her own relationships. 

Ann Maree
Yeah, definitely. Well, you have articulated in some of the things you've written that fighting against an injustice like this is complex and dangerous. So speak to us— the helpers, the counselors, therapists, lay counselors, pastors, whoever's helping— what does it mean to be cautious and wise? What does it mean to include multi disciplinary coordinated effort? How does the church even participate? 

Dr Evans
Great questions. Yeah, I think cautious and wise, it's first and foremost. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to be ongoing students. So, of human trafficking, of trauma, what it looks like, and how to engage and how to engage properly. That, in and of itself, will help guide knowing where to step in and where not to step in. It's for somebody to say, “I care about this issue. I'm going to go in and rescue those girls from that massage parlor that I know something's happening there.” It is not wise and not cautious. In fact, quite dangerous for yourself and as well as the girls and women that you are potentially trying to, quote, unquote, rescue. So that's we want to do. We we don't need reckless vigilantes whatsoever. We need to also understand that there are often things going on behind the surface in terms of investigations and things like that. So it is wise for us to think about what our lane is and what it's not, and how do we report things versus how? Then, how do we take action? How do we honor a process of patience and time and give choice to people, rather than thinking that people need our rescue? I wasn't planning to share all those things, but I think they're important. Sometimes it'd be better for us to just raise money and send it to an organization that's doing the work, rather than thinking that we are the ones that would be on the front line to do the work. 

So in terms of you asking about multi disciplinary, coordinated efforts, this is really what is hopefully continuing to grow and improve, worldwide, statewide, community wide. I hear in the community where I live, what we have really sought to do over the last, my goodness, we're going on. How many years have we been at it? For almost 15 years a community that is involved from prevention to detection to intervention. And what that means is that the average community member has a role of being aware of what are the signs of what to look for, who might I report it to, and how do we just go about doing our job to keep things safe. But then we have law enforcement who are also trained to know what to look for and to rightly name things as trafficking and to prioritize holding accountable both the buyers of sex as well as the traffickers versus the women, not penalizing the women, but getting them into resources and help. 

So then we need resources. We need anything and everything to provide help for these women and and also that those resources would have training on trauma and trafficking. So you can hear there's this multi disciplinary effort to make sure that there is information and there is education on what trafficking looks like, what trauma looks like, and then what is needed for somebody to really be restored back in. We need laws, state laws, not just federal laws, that have teeth on them, that would target the buyers and the traffickers, that would help provide services for victims and accountability for third party facilitators, such as, you know, a hotel or something like that, that where it's taking place. We need all of those things working together. 

And when an individual leaves trafficking, she may need shelter, she may need treatment services. We may need to work together to figure out how to bypass red tape when, let's say she needs rehab for drug dependence, but she doesn't have insurance and she doesn't have an address, so she can't get county funding. It's complicated. So we need people that can work together to address those things. 

And what I can say about the role of the church is that survivors of trafficking, they do need a safety net, and they do need a support system. One of the most profound things that came out of my research of trafficking survivors, and I wanted to look at the impact of complex trauma, but also really help hear from them directly. What did they find helpful? What did they not find helpful? And the number one thing that was named that they said they needed and that they found helpful really boiled down to relationship. It could have been relationship with a therapist that was with them for the long haul, or probation officer that believed in them, or a 12 step sponsor, or volunteers from local churches that became involved in their life as a mentor. It was relationship. People that believed in them help them reshape their identity came alongside them, the surrogate family members, and I think that's what the church can do. 

First, we must ask ourselves, are our churches welcoming? Would it be safe for someone to come in that is not used to being in church without her being judged or ostracized, or we as individuals in the church willing to go out to local organizations or trafficking coalitions and become trained to become involved, maybe meeting them out in the community before they step foot in church. I know local organizations here that need volunteers to provide transportation to doctor's appointments or to come in and teach certain classes, or to help somebody create a budget, or to help them fill out job applications. There's so many different ways that individuals could be needed. It's needed to model healthy relationships. Churches can also raise money and support local organizations who are already doing the work. And I like to encourage people to think about what what is your sphere of influence in the community? What are your gifts and skills and passions, and how can that be used, either to volunteer or to raise funds? There's just so many different ways. But I think what's important is that churches also become informed and recognize that it's always important to give any survivor choice. Sometimes in our efforts to help, we end up harming. We end up reentering because we think we're helping, but we never stop to ask them, Well, what do they want? What do they think they need? We jump in and tell them what they think they need. So getting ongoing support for training and consultation to make sure that we're helping and not harming is very important. 

Ann Maree
Yeah, and you're touching on my next question about the aftercare of a person who's been exposed and used, exploited like this, but perhaps add to that, if there's anything else that you have about aftercare, but add to that, what are the chances that they'll be exploited again? You're saying it's easy to make mistakes, I'm sure, and that shouldn't prevent us from helping. But what are some of the things that we should know right away that would either help us from hurting but also help them from being exploited again?

Dr Evans
Unfortunately, it is common for individuals to be exploited again. In fact, I did see some studies that estimate that 50 to 80% of survivors experience re trafficking or re victimization. And there's a variety of reasons, and I wanted to highlight that first because as I talk about aftercare, I hope that everyone recognizes how overwhelming it sounds and how many barriers exist. I'm actually going to read an aspect from my book, just a couple paragraphs from my book, that I think really highlight this. “What happens when a survivor leaves the trafficker? What does she experience? An outside observer may expect a survivor to experience relief and satisfaction upon being separated from a trafficker and the horrific experiences endured. However, consider this possible scenario for an illustration of what she may encounter, an individual accompanied by symptoms of complex trauma, confronted by many decisions and stressors, faced with unemployment, while also being requested, if not pressured, to participate in a court process. The idea of testifying against her trafficker includes fear, often based on real threat, guilt, confusion and indicators of a trauma bond, not to mention the retelling of unspeakable, countless details of violence, deception, betrayal and exploitation. Her task of finding employment may include the barrier of criminal charges, disrupted education and limited to no experience in the workforce outside of the commercial industry that can be included on a resume or job application. She may also experience stigma for being involved in the commercial sex industry. Her own feelings of shame and isolation may be exacerbated when returning to friends and family who lack awareness or understanding of what occurred, or by having contact in public with former buyers. Active symptoms of trauma may further complicate navigating these decisions and barriers while trying to learn self regulatory coping skills that don't include substances or self destruction. She may lack social support from family or friends, not to mention she may still be struggling to fill most basic needs of food, clothing and consistent shelter with barriers of fear, mistrust and shame as she reaches out to services often met with those who lack training in trauma and trafficking, who are who have limitations and resources and understanding, which can, at times, further perpetuate isolation and harm. Additional life stressors related to any one of these factors may then only increase some existing symptoms of trauma.” 

That's meant to sound overwhelming, because it absolutely is. They leave sometimes with nothing, maybe sometimes a bag of a few articles of clothing. They may need everything, and everything from food, clothing, shelter to ID to health insurance to rehab to of course, counseling to legal support to jobs to mentoring, social support, medical intervention help with financial management. They have both short term, very immediate needs, but actually they have very long term holistic needs, because it's the rebuilding of a person and identity and rebuilding of a life back into a community while they carry trauma, confusion and shame. So they need anything and everything. And I that's why I emphasize that, because all of those things could actually lead back into them being re exploited, whether it's the trauma bond and they go back to their original traffic, or whether it's low self worth, or whether it's lack of safe housing and economic stability that leave them in a position of, “Well, I, you know, I, I know how to make money. I can just now, I can just do that to survive.” Those kinds of things. Or they haven't quite worked through the trauma, so they may not know what is love and what is not, and be at risk for entering into another abusive relationship. 

In the research that I've done, what they've described as helpful versus not helpful. In terms of helpful, it was those who care providers that they sense were really educated and informed and were with them for the long haul. It was those that provided choice and really gave them a sense that they were listening and they cared and wanted to offer choice. It was when there was incorporation of peer support. So when they got connected with other survivors, it was when people help them to find referrals to other services, and they felt like services in the area were connected and collaborating with each other, not isolated, similar to what they felt in the trafficking experience. What they didn't find helpful was when people just didn't get human trafficking or trauma, when they didn't listen, when services promised things that were not fulfilled, or when services just said, “Well, there's a lack of resources. There was really nothing that we can do.” Or many times they actually experience feeling re exploited or re traumatized by some of the services that they provided. 

One more thing I'll just mention in hearing everything I just shared is that, yes, they need trauma counseling, but that's often not what they first need. What they first need is the safety and food, clothing and shelter and people that will show up and be with them for the long haul, until they get to the point where they're stable enough that they can go into trauma therapy and do some of that deeper work. 

Ann Maree
Wow, I am, I am thankful, though, that you emphasized just the weightiness of all of that. Yes, first, because I think we find that's why you and I, maybe not so much as counselors, but others don't enter into this, this type of exploitated person's life, because there's a lot to it, and also get intimidated because of the ways in which it can go wrong. So I'm so glad that you actually gave us a framework for thinking about it right before this last question. And in that there are things I mean, just just simply, relationship is really big, just thinking about the weight, though, between having hurt as a as a caregiver, having heard the details, the horrific details of the story, and then the weight you said the word long haul, it is weighty, because when it includes everything you just described, and it's for a long period of time, yeah, it's gonna wear down support systems easily. So I don't wanna overemphasize, “we can do it, we can help,” and then not also emphasize, but we also need help in doing it. 

I'm referring more to sort of secondary trauma for the helpers who are on the front lines. So I'm going to suggest that there might even be trauma for those that are listening to our story this season, in our audience. And then, of course, what I just said, there's the secondary trauma for those who are helping. What are, what are some of the ways you suggest that frontline workers or frontline listeners, counselors, pastors, etc, how do you suggest we take care of ourselves? And this is really, really important, because I emphasize on the whole season, to come to this episode to hear how to how to listen, so no pressure. But could you describe for us what that looks like? 

Dr Evans
Oh, it is so essential. And in fact, you know, I'm do a lot of training now on secondary trauma. It's simply just to prepare everyone that you are very much at risk for secondary trauma. It's just by nature of the work and your commitment to it and the importance of emotional involvement, it's almost inevitable that it will eventually happen, so preparing for that and seeking to mitigate it is extremely important. It's been said that trauma is contagious, and the symptoms of trauma can be caught. 

The caregiver can catch them, or even organizations working with this type of complex trauma can be in and of themselves, become traumatized, if not cared for properly. And so I think one very important thing just off the bat is the ongoing role of training, collaboration and consultation. So training is an ongoing process, and having regular methods of becoming trained and continuing to grow and learn. Collaboration is the idea that no organization or individual is working alone and thinking that I am the be all, end all, or this organization is the be all, end all. The more collaboration, the more you are combating secondary trauma and the risk of that. And then consultation, and so that may be meeting one on one with someone else that has expertise in the field. I would add, in addition to that, I support group type thing. So if it's an organization that's working with survivors, not just having staff meetings where logistics are discussed, but where there's space for talking about, how are we doing, how are we caring for self and having some type of accountability for self care and for team care. I am part of a monthly support group were providers on the front lines, working with survivors of trafficking, and that group has really primarily become a time where we check in and we say, “How are you doing? Do you have any questions about a specific, difficult case?” How are you caring for yourself? And inevitably, we laugh, but we also cry together, and it's become a way that we feel like we're with other people who get it. And that has been extremely important. 

I would just add to that, that if trauma healing is the reversal of the trauma experience, so restoring back to an individual what was taken from the trauma, restoring things like safety and boundaries and voice and choice then set the mitigation of secondary trauma is also the reversal of trauma. Diane Langberg talks about having things that are the opposite of the work that we do. So that would mean if the weight of working with victims is, you know, heavy, then we need activities that are light. If we sit with stories that are dark and ugly, then how do we immerse ourselves in beauty? If our work feels like it's tedious and we're never really seeing progress, then how do we have things in our day that actually give us a sense of productivity? It's given me a whole new appreciation for doing the dishes, because I can see the end result. I I can create order in my house. And after I've sat with disorder all day, it has changed me to make sure I'm prioritizing immersing myself in beauty, immersing myself in things that are light and life-giving, and it's, it's a good way to think about self care that isn't just expensive or timely. It's a mindset for what we immerse ourselves— even on a daily basis— that could be the opposite of the work that we do. 

Ann Maree
I forgot that, pretty sure you actually talked about it in our inner coursework as well, and I'm just now being reminded it's it's actually that simple, the opposite, thinking, the opposite. And I'm right with you. I was gonna write a book one day called, Girl, Clean Your Refrigerator for trauma, you know, for helping with trauma. 

But thank you for caring for our listeners who are caregiving as well. I'm just going to turn back a little bit, back to a different topic and ask you, I've heard you say trafficking exists because of demand.  And so I am pretty sure we'd like to think that this conversation is just kind of on the fringe of a church topic for us to know about but we know differently. And so what does demand look like in Christ's body? Do you have any insight into that?

Dr Evans
Well, what I can say is that the demographics of those who are buying the sex do represent all walks of life, every age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, but most often they are comprised of educated professionals, clergy, students, educators, law enforcement and more, all of which can be found sitting in the pews of our churches.

Maybe are men that we would consider to be normal, and that is unfortunate. Buying of sex has actually become quite normalized in our society, and we may think, yeah, but not our church. Well, you know, listen to the story of Carya. And in my own research and work with survivors, I've met with survivors that have been recruited in church. I've met survivors that have run into buyers in their church, who they were worship leaders, they were deacons, or they were church Sunday school leaders, things like that. And of course, similar to Carya, I've know plenty of individuals who've experienced familial trafficking, and they attend a church every Sunday, so we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that there are stories that this is happening. And finally, one of the things that I think the church has done a little bit better to address is that pornography is common.

Pornography fuels the commercial sex industry. So one of the things when we're addressing if, hopefully we are all addressing pornography in our congregations, for both men and women, when we're addressing it, we can address the objectification and the commodification of God's image bearers, meaning that the individuals who are in the porn are actually image bearers of God, and they have been made into commodity. They're being bought for someone to view for their pleasure. That's exploitation.

And the reality is that some of those individuals in the porn actually have been or currently are being trafficked. The porn industry fuels the industry where trafficking occurs. They go hand in hand. So if we're addressing porn, we need to address the demand for the commercial sex industry and how that fuels the literal trafficking of human beings. 

Ann Maree
We cannot disconnect those things. Yeah. And again, I've said this a little bit before already, but it's, I think it's more readily done, not everywhere in churches, but in churches, to disconnect that, you know, if it's a porn problem, it's a personal problem, it doesn't impact the rest of the membership. It doesn't impact the world, but it does. 

Dr Evans
Yes. 

Ann MareeOkay, so about this story in particular being such a extreme version. I want to just play something that Korea said when I was talking to her, and then I have a question for you.

Carya recording  
When hearing a story like mine, I think it's easy to assume that it's so extreme that there's practically no one else who has had a similar experience. I fear that people will hear it and think, wow, that's awful, but also think that there's nothing they need to learn from it because it's so rare. They think they'll never encounter someone with a story like this, especially not here in America. I fear that the very extremity of my story will make people think they can safely dismiss it as something they'll never have to deal with. That's what makes me feel like it's important to share. We believe in and follow a God who sent His Son into the world to wage war against evil. Yet we struggle to believe that evil can be evil like this, this bad right here in our own neighborhoods, right here among people we encounter and know.

Ann Maree
So why wouldn't people want to know that sex trafficking exists? 

Dr Evans
I don't think we want to face the capacity for evil and suffering, not in our country, our town, our church, and not in our own hearts. We don't want it to rock our security and our comfort, and perhaps it's that we don't want to be responsible for doing something about it, because to know is then to have a responsibility to act. It requires change and commitment, which is costly,

To not act after we know is actually to be complicit. I think of one of the first survivors I met, and it was at the time when I was still learning, but kind of coming out of my learning phase and into a place where we were starting a coalition in our region that would become a nonprofit organization addressing trafficking. And just so happened, a woman at a local business where I was doing some work started talking, and then I ended up finding that she actually was a victim of trafficking. And she said, “Remember that understanding is not enough.” She couldn't emphasize it enough. And I think what she was concerned about was we would start this coalition that would do trainings and raise awareness, and then that would be it, that it would just put a spotlight on human trafficking, and it would never move to action. It felt hopeless that the community wouldn't really respond. She said, people don't want to know, they don't want to believe it's true, and they deny that it's happening. I don't know that's the answer to the question, Ann Maree, but my thought is that we're concerned. We'd have to change something if we know it's easier to just say it's not happening here. I don't want to know about it. 

Ann Maree
Yeah, we often talk about this with our advocacy work in that once you have that information, it is your responsibility to do something with it. It's the basis of a lot of the church hurt and betrayal. So I can understand this woman's concern. 

So those of us in this type of industry, if you will, this care profession, we don't necessarily do it for rewards. There are none. It's relentless. It is very relentless, and I said unrewarding, but I don't believe that's true, because there is reward in all of the relationships I've built with women who have been harmed. But what would you say that we do with that? I mean, I guess that's a two part question in my head. I'm thinking about people who might get involved in this work for their own self fulfillment. But then the other side of the coin of what do those of us who are in this who are regularly just being as beaten down as the circumstances keep coming. What do we do with that? 

Dr Evans
Great, yeah, I I do think sometimes we enter this work, not recognizing how costly it is, even how mundane it is, and often unfruitful and not glamorous. I think we might have high hopes of change and what we can bring and we want to make a difference and and some of those intentions may be quite driven by compassion and a desire to help, a desire for justice, but we do have to be careful. 

And I think number one, this work really very clearly, will expose our motivations. If our motivation is anything other than that, anything impure or self focused, it will definitely be exposed. I think it's important that our intentions of helping others are not intentions of rescuing or changing because again, that we could be in a position of possibly re injuring them if we ignore their voice, their choice, or the pace, if we do it for them and not with them. So I think that's on the one hand, is just evaluating your why before you get involved and adjusting and knowing your expectations. Though I think the work itself adjusts those expectations quite quickly. 

But for those of us who are in this work and we're in it for the long haul, I think one of the things that I go back to is my why. What is my why? And I encourage people literally write it out and put it somewhere where they can look back like a mission statement. What is the reason I got into this in the first place? And that often is the thing that will keep you going. And for many of us, that's falling in the way of Jesus, it's our faith. It's watching how Jesus lived his life and his character, and wanting to enter in and represent him well. So holding on to our why and having that keep us grounded is something that I think is extremely important. 

Ann Maree
Yeah, I'm big on mission statements, and I don't even have one for this. I'm convicted. 

I'm bouncing around a little bit here, but I wanted to just jump ahead and ask, what does success look like in working to eradicate this evil?

Dr Evans
I don't know. You know, if I could say that no human being will be made into an object or a commodity to be bought or sold. That sounds like success, but that sounds daunting and impossible. I hope we keep working towards that and striving for that, or that power would not be abused or excluded exploited. I hope that we keep working and striving towards that, but I can say that success is really paying attention to the small victories, or maybe sometimes large victories along the way. I can think about a time when I was sitting in a very public event where our district attorney was talking about how human trafficking was such a problem in our region, and therefore he was declaring effort to create a response team that would be this coordinated effort with law enforcement and service providers to really prioritize helping victims find services and prioritize arresting the buyers. And I remember 10 years earlier, sitting with people from his office in a meeting where they said, we really can't prioritize this because we just we don't see the data. We don't see the numbers. And it was like, Look how far we've come in 10 years. You know, we had 10 years of grassroots efforts until it was acknowledged on more of a higher up level, and and then we saw the numbers flip in that county where they were arresting buyers and not arresting the women. They were actually getting those women connected with local services. So looking for those victories along the way, and if I may quick, tell another story.

One time, we were having a coalition meeting, and we had a panel discussion, and we were talking about, what is justice, and there was a detective from our county that was there, and he said, you know, he's seen many cases prosecuted. He's seen traffickers go to prison or abusers go to prison, he said, but that's not justice. He said to me, justice is years later when I see a victim out in the community and she's married and she has a kid and she's working and I see her living life. He said, that's when I feel there's justice. That's when I feel their success, and I can relate to that. For me, it's seeing survivors go on to get their master's degree and become therapists or social workers or do research or become leaders and advocates in the field, or for some survivors, it's seeing them just live a normal quiet life. It's witnessing the post traumatic growth that is success. To me, that's what success looks like, the rebuilding of a person and a person finding her voice and finding her freedom. And so it's looking for those victories along the way, specifically in the lives of people. 

Yes, yeah, and thank you for turning it toward the victim, because that's that's where I want to close with a question we've named this season, Bearing Witness. I believe that's Diane Langberg’s regular terminology. But what does it mean to the victim for us to listen and bear witness? 

Dr Evans
Well, first, yeah, I love that term bearing witness. Sandra Bloom, who is an expert in trauma, she defines bearing witness as to testify, to to give or afford evidence up. And there's an article she wrote in 1990 so it's a little bit old, but I think it still applies. And in that article, she said that she believes bearing witness is what we need. It's the most potent and non violent method for transforming experiences and a desire, bringing about a desire for justice, the most potent and non violent method, I think, that can still be said for today. So bearing witness, I also love. It's it's incarnational. It's entering in. It's watching with Jesus. It's listening with expectation, to have compassion, to grieve, to experience, to learn. And what does that do for the survivor? It restores their dignity. It removes shame and gives honor. It breathes back into their being, to the building of identity, I think it restores value. It both teaches and changes the listener as we enter in and it changes the one being listened to. It brings us closer to Christ, who entered in that we might be changed, redeemed and glorified. It brings healing to those who are both speaking and listening. 

Ann Maree
And as you're speaking, I hear the echoes of scripture in overcoming evil with good immediately when I hear from a storyteller or anyone, any that any of the people we help here in the ministry either advocating or hearing their story, I'm like, furious. I become like this mama bear, and I want to take action, and I want to punch people in the face, kind of feeling, and I'm constantly drawn back to that phrase of overcoming evil with good. And I think about bearing witness. It's just a it's a good. It's such a good that will eventually right, overcome this evil and other evils.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you again. I would like to hear, if you do have more information, Voices of Survivors Project, because I just think that is such a beautiful way for our listeners who have been victimized to be able to progress down their path of healing. Is there anything else you can give us about that? 

Dr Evans
Oh, I would, I would love to share. I'm very passionate about it's been one of the highlights of my life. The Voices of Survivors Project is a platform for survivors of human sex trafficking or other forms of violence to express their lived experiences as survivors through photography. It first started with my dissertation research, where I had seven participants, six who actually submitted photos, and they were just prompted to share their lived experiences through photography. Then we got them together with each other to talk about what they see in each other's pictures, and then we gave them the opportunity to decide— what do you want to do with these pictures, and they found it to be such a healing process for them to both express their lived experiences through photography. Sometimes art is a better way to find words and express your experience than words in and of themselves, but also to bear witness to each other's. So when I asked them, Who do you want to see these pictures? They said, “We want anyone and everyone to see our pictures.” And so that started the Voices of Survivors Project, which became a photo book, a transportable exhibit and social media where other people can bear witness to their pictures and the captions that go with them. And what I think is so powerful about their pictures is both it shows the struggle, the ongoing struggle, struggle of complex trauma, but there's so much hope and beauty of post traumatic growth in their pictures, and since that first project that literally has gone around the world through speaking at international conferences and taking it to East Africa and others have seen their photos, and I'm thrilled to say that it is currently being translated into Portuguese and will be on display in Brazil in the very near future. And we've had four additional projects, all here in our region, of people who have added to the Voices of Survivors Projects. So I'm available to either walk people through a virtual exhibit that could be used as an empathy or awareness training event, showing the photos it's so powerful and healing. I am very willing to lead a group through a project, because it's powerful for the people who are involved in a great way to raise awareness. And if you're interested in just what's already been done, you can purchase any of the books on Voices of Survivors Project dot com or follow us on social media for future updates. 

Ann Maree
And I would agree I don't know exactly which photos that you were using when we were in the Global Trauma Recovery Institute. But what just using the photos that you did and asking us questions about that was very powerful. So I'm sitting here thinking as you're saying that, hmm, she offers a training. Wonder if we might do something like that. 

But anyway, thank you again and again and again for helping us and our audience understand and even comprehend sex trafficking, the circumstances and the victims and survivors. And I have confidence that this information will only serve to help us care for those impacted and even some of their loved ones, perhaps at least a little better.

Friends. Next time on the safe to hope podcast, we will be hearing part two of Carya's story. Each time another story drops, more devastating details will be revealed.

I want to say thank you for bearing witness to Carya with us as one of our favorite Substack author writes, and I'm paraphrasing, to include each one of us, “God may be calling us to be a source of his justice and healing in a broken world, maybe on a small level, but the further down this path we travel, the more we find that we are the ones being transformed.”

Mark your calendars to join us here once again on the Safe to Hope podcast May 13 for the second installment of Carya’s story.

Safe to Hope is a production of HelpHer. Our Executive Producer is Ann Maree Goudzwaard. Safe to Hope is written and mixed by Ann Maree and edited by Ann Maree and Helen Weigt. Music in this season is ‘Cinematic Slow Sad Piano | Soundtrack’ by OpenMusicList, licensed via Pixabay. We hope you enjoyed this episode in the Safe To Hope podcast series.