WEBINAR: Understanding Women Who Unsilence Domestic Non-State Torture-Trafficking Victimizations

This presentation shares the grassroots science development of the definition of non-State torture and sexualized human trafficking perpetrated within domestic or intimate family relationships. We share the reality of several women—Lynn and Sara—explaining that these relationships include organized connections to informal criminal networks. We illustrate how using our developed non-State torture assessment questionnaire provides assistance in understanding the acts of non-State torture a woman has survived. Intervention models include explaining why we developed our non-State torture (NST) victimization-traumatization informed care framework, including de-pathologizing language by replacing PTSD with PTSR—“R” representing “responses” versus labeling a woman “disordered.” What we mean by visible captivity is addressed. We provide insights into cellular “body talk” memories, include examples of interventions to cope with verbal and drugging torture intrusive memories and discuss forms of suicide-femicide. Several polls will be introduced during the presentation. Our book, Women Unsilenced Our Refusal To Let Torturer-Traffickers Win, is referenced as a valuable resource as it details our 30 years of work supporting women recover who survived non-State torture-human trafficking ordeals perpetrated by a spouse and within families. Three learning considerations you may want to take away with you: 1. Learning to be comfortable when women name non-State torture as the form of violence they survived as adults and or as children; 2. Intervention models and ideas about caring, and 3. Utilizing our book as a reference resource so a woman so victimized may be inspired to realize that other women broke their silence, they were heard, listened to with care, and believed, and that recovery, although hard work, is possible.