Survivor Parents: Experiences with Child Custody and Unique Needs for Survivors with Children at Exit
M. Elizabeth Bowman, PhD, LICSW, LCSW-C & Betsy Nolan | September 18 | 9:45-10:45 am
Topic: Research, Direct Service | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Many survivors of human trafficking are parents who face unique needs and real challenges in dealing with child welfare and family court after exiting their trafficking situation due to the stigma and misunderstanding of their trafficking experiences that survivors face in these systems. In Polaris’s First National Survivor Study, sex and labor trafficking survivors participated in focus groups, interviews, and a final survey with 457 participants. In their analysis, the researchers looked at the unique needs of parenting survivors and their considerably higher service needs, notably in childcare, education, job training, and mental health services. The findings underscore the necessity for comprehensive support systems and policy reform to facilitate their recovery and safeguard their children’s welfare. Survivors made it clear that their children and maintaining custody of them were chief among their concerns, and many detailed disputes they had faced in keeping their children with them. In particular, custody disputes with child welfare and with their exploiters are exhausting and traumatizing. Traffickers have used the court system and custody disputes to discredit survivors of trafficking and as a result, the justice system is being exploited to further victimize survivors. This study is one of the first to highlight the need that survivors have reported themselves on issues with custody and to look at the unique needs parenting survivors face after exit. Attendees will learn how to effectively engage with survivor parents and to advocate for their needs in various anti-trafficking settings.
Presentation Objectives:
• Discuss the effect of systems on parenting survivors’ access to childcare, housing, education, and employment
• Explain the needs of survivors as related to children after leaving exploitation experience
• Discuss ways to address this issue including in support systems for survivors and policy reform