Date of Award
12-2017
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
Jennifer Loveland
Third Advisor
Abbie Tuller
Abstract
This study examined how traffickers used different elements of isolation and how such tactics may have contributed to the traffickers’ success in maintaining control over the victim. I examined in-depth narratives from 14 women between the ages of 20-53, primarily immigrants, who were recruited from an agency serving victims of sex trafficking in a large metropolitan city. The tactics used by traffickers varied and included not only the commonly defined structural isolation in which victims are restricted physically and socially, but also included a shrinking of safe social space and an elimination of privacy and social support. The latter is termed functional isolation and refers to instances when survivors are surrounded by peers who are either unreliable or aligned with the trafficker and thus, are unable to give genuine social support. Finally, the different interwoven types and patterns of physical and psychological isolation reported by former victims of trafficking help address a dearth in the coercive control and abuse literature, providing a richer understanding of isolation in trafficking survivors.
Recommended Citation
Mahan, Liz, "Functional Isolation: Understanding isolation in trafficking survivors" (2017). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/50
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Counselor Education Commons, Social Work Commons