(2) COMPREHENSIVE CRISIS INTERVENTION STRATEGIES - Compounding factors
Compounding factors enable the interventionist to adequately address the issues at hand and help the trauma victim identify a path forward. These factors must be seen from 2 perspectives: that of the victim and that of the perpetrator.
Victims
Victims experience trafficking for many reasons, but the most common contributors to their vulnerability make them easy prey.
Financial Insecurity & Lack of Education.
The path to sex trafficking, a significant subset of this issue, is often carved through desperation. Areas burdened by poverty and lack of education are fertile grounds for this exploitation. Job scarcity compels women to consider employment opportunities abroad, often presented by the traffickers themselves. Once enticed by these prospects, victims are stripped of their documents, which makes escaping their bondage a legal impossibility – making them perfect targets for sex traffickers who can pimp them out in exotic countries. Lack of education makes women more likely to fall victim to fraudulent job offers and less likely to be able to find genuine work in their own country or abroad. For example, Syrian refugees continue to face challenges across the region. 60% face poverty and stable jobs and education elude many. As all these factors collide, early marriage and sexual violence worsen, while the use of harmful coping mechanisms may rise. (3 R P, 2019)
Discrimination and Marginalization.
Invisible but significant, communities facing prejudice due to gender, race, socioeconomic class, or nationality become easy targets for exploitation. Discrimination skews law enforcement and judicial systems, favoring the majority and leaving marginalized minorities exposed to rampant injustices. In Lebanon, women are still imprisoned and charged if they are trafficked because it is engaging in unlawful behavior: prostitution. However, the men who purchase their services face no consequences. (Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2015)
Sexual Gender-based violence (SGBV) is a significant issue in the MENA, and light has been shed on this only recently. A study conducted in a Lebanese-based Syrian Refugee camp found that male staffing among camp leadership increased SGBV against refugee women. (Cole & Huang, 2022)
The Stripping of Legal Rights.
Citizenship often dictates legal rights, making non-citizens particularly susceptible to exploitation. Undocumented immigrants, who have reached the country through smuggling or have been trafficked, can be easily manipulated and entrapped and may have no means of coming forwards for help. Whether they want to seek legal or crisis support, they may operate under the fear that coming forwards could put them and their children through incarceration or deportation.
Overcrowding in Refugee Camps.
As more and more people are pushed into camps to address the issue of mass migration, centers often become overcrowded, resulting in women and children living in very close proximity to strangers. Prolonged cohabitation with strangers can increase the likelihood of harassment, abuse, or sexual exploitation. This risk is particularly pronounced for single, divorced, or widowed refugee women who are more at risk without a male partner potentially offering protection. (Cole & Huang, 2022)
History of Abuse and Trauma.
A primary factor in sexual abuse, rape, or violence is an initial incident. Due to how this trauma affects the psyche, if abuse trauma is not treated and healed, it makes the victim likely to experience it again. Additionally, research suggests that girls from dysfunctional families, particularly those exposed to abuse, are more susceptible to trafficking. Their emotional scars render them more amenable to the deceptive tactics of seasoned pimps and traffickers. (James & Gilliland, 2017)
Perpetrators
Unfortunately, certain factors also contribute to the “supply” of perpetrators of sexual abuse among refugee women. These factors may not be avoidable to these women, but understanding what they are can assist interventionists in understanding the legal and cultural landscape of the place, as well as identifying victims and supporting them in escaping the situation.
Lack of Law and Order & Presence of Organized Crime.
As with most crimes, a breakdown in law enforcement often leads to increased crime. Most people escaping war zones come from, and often too, areas where this breakdown occurred. This gives individuals who may not otherwise have committed an act of sexual violence the lack of accountability they need to commit these acts. (Human Rights Council, 2022)
Presence of Foreign Peacekeeping Troops.
It surprises many people that foreign peacekeeping troops often contribute to the issues of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and SGBV in the communities where they operate. When the movie The Whistleblower came out, the Western world was shocked that such a thing could happen, but it was no surprise to residents of these countries. In Lebanon, it is well known that if one meets an Arab with light brown hair and striking green or blue eyes, they likely came from the south, where UN peacekeeping forces have been flowing in and out of for decades. Foreign troops enter with money and physical power, while women in refugee camps or trying to get into the country over the border are an immediate target.