Date of Award
8-2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Anthropology
First Advisor
Jennie Burnet
Second Advisor
Cassandra White
Third Advisor
Kathryn A. Kozaitis
Abstract
The challenges faced by survivors of trafficking are harsh and devastating. Service providers in the anti-trafficking movement also face obstacles, as they navigate through systemic inequities and other barriers. Through ethnographic research, I interviewed trafficking survivors and service providers in order to try to understand and amplify the stories about the challenges they face. By doing so, I explore reframing rites of passage, as it operates within a framework that I suggest includes the concept of “cruel optimism”. As themes emerged, it became evident that survivors and service providers both battle uncontrollable factors within systems, inadequate social services, inflexibility of services, transient services, and a rigid anti-trafficking movement that limits growth and positive change. While there are tangible recommendations, there is also an overarching need for a space for grace and reframing survivorship. Empathy is the key to moving toward such compassionate frameworks that may make tangible recommendations possible.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/35687218
Recommended Citation
Eng, Cassandra L., "A Space for Grace: Avenues to Ameliorate Obstacles Faced by Human Trafficking Survivors and Resource Providers." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2023.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/35687218
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