ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the dehumanizing impact of human sex trafficking and sexual abuse on its victims and survivors. It commences with a global picture of this underrepresented population and gives background on how this trauma is manifested both on a psychological and physical level. Next, this chapter describes how dance/movement therapy (DMT) is unparalleled in its capacity to address the holistic needs of survivors of sexual trauma by working to reconnect the immobilized body to the traumatized mind, making both places safe once again. Two culturally appropriate evidence-based models, Sampoornata Model and Performance as Therapy called the Reintegration Models, describe how DMT is practiced beyond the clinical realm in its capacity to address the holistic needs of survivors. The first is based in inclusive community empowerment in India, where survivors are given the tools to become agents of change and survivor–leaders themselves. The other is based in dance performance in the United States, using witness and externalization as tools for building empathy as a bridge to reintegration into society posttrafficking. Personal case vignettes are described, which celebrate the resiliency of not only surviving but also thriving when rising from the horrors of trauma and abuse.
