“I Had to Allow Myself to Heal”: How Survivors of Sex Trafficking Have Experienced Healing From Trauma Bonding

Abstract

Among the many issues facing sex trafficking survivors, the trauma bonds they develop with their perpetrators are one of the most complex and least understood concerns. This community-based participatory research phenomenological study explored this phenomenon by asking: How have survivors of sex trafficking experienced healing from trauma bonding? The sample consisted of 19 female survivors who were all participants in or graduates of a human trafficking specialty docket. Three themes emerged: survivors shared that (a) building trusting and honest relationships, (b) their relationships with themselves, and (c) education all played a pivotal role in the healing they had experienced.