Date of Award
Spring 5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department/Program
Forensic Mental Health Counseling
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Chitra Raghavan
Second Reader
Charles B. Stone
Third Advisor
Lisa Fischel-Wolovick
Abstract
The present study analyzed wiretap data to determine the characteristics of social support among concurrent victims of sex trafficking. Using a grounded theory approach to determine prevalent elements and themes that characterize interactions, conversations between women and conversations between pimps and women that involve concurrent victims as a topic of conversation were examined. A coding scheme was created based on the derived elements, and network patterns were analyzed. Finally, temporal patterns of conflict were examined to determine whether periods of heightened threat were used to punctuate periods of seeming calm, similar to that seen in research on coercive control and intimate partner violence (Dutton & Goodman, 2005). Findings suggested that the pimp used coercive control to maintain victim compliance, and as a result, victims were isolated from the outside world. While at the surface the women appeared to have each other as their primary social network, analysis revealed that the women monitored and regulated each other in order to enforce the pimp’s rules and gain status with him, which contributed to feelings of competition, distrust, and jealousy. This is consistent with other studies that have noted such discord among victims (Morselli & Savoie-Gargiso, 2014; Reid & Piquero, 2014), which increases trust towards the pimp (Reid, 2016). The current research has implications for understanding the complex and subtle nature of coercive control and the power pimps exercise over their victims.
Recommended Citation
Unger, Leslie and Raghavan, Chitra, "Isolation and Support Dynamics Among Concurrent Victims of Sex Trafficking" (2019). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/100