Veronica is a 13-year-old Hispanic girl from Guatemala who was trafficked into sex work by her aunt at age 12. She was able to escape to the US but was trafficked again by the coyote transporting her. She now lives with her mother in the US and attends weekly therapy to address her PTSD and build self-esteem. Her therapist uses trauma-informed techniques and helps her connect to community resources while she pursues a visa.

1. Working With Survivors of Human Trafficking: The Case of
Veronica
Veronica is a 13-year-old, heterosexual, Hispanic female. She
attends high school and is in the ninth grade. She currently lives
in an apartment with her biological mother and her sister, age 9.
She came to this country 7 months ago from Guatemala.
Veronica is a sex trafficking survivor and was referred to me for
individual therapy by a human trafficking agency in the United
States.
Veronica’s biological mother and father separated when
Veronica was 3 years old. She lived with her maternal aunt and
biological mother until she was 6 years old, and her mother left
Guatemala to come to the United States. At that time, Veronica
stayed in the care of her maternal aunt and kept in touch with
her biological mother via phone and through the visits that her
mother made to Guatemala. Veronica would visit with her
father, who lived nearby, on occasion, although she stated they
did not have much of a connection. When Veronica was 12
years old, her maternal aunt forced her into prostitution, using
the money from the sex acts as her main source of income.
Veronica reported that her maternal aunt began treating her
“like a slave” and would make her smoke an unknown substance
before obligating her to perform sexual acts on countless men
for money. This took place for close to a year before Veronica
was able to sneak a phone call to her mother and explain what
had been happening to her. Her mother quickly arranged for
Veronica to be picked up by a “coyote” (a person who smuggles
people into the United States). The coyote successfully
smuggled Veronica into the United States within 2 months of
that phone call. However, while crossing the border from
Mexico to the United States, Veronica once again became the
victim of sex trafficking crimes. The coyote was also a pimp
who arranged for men crossing the border in the same truck as
Veronica to engage in sexual acts with her for which the coyote

2. collected money. U.S. immigration officers caught most of the
people traveling in the truck, including Veronica, and
placed them in a detention center. However, the coyote got
away. Three weeks after Veronica was detained, after much
questioning and investigation, she was reunited with her
mother.
I met with Veronica weekly for individual therapy in my role as
a social worker at an agency serving individuals who have
experienced human trafficking. Veronica reported having
occasional flashbacks and fear that “it will all happen again,”
and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). The goals agreed upon in therapy included building
Veronica’s support system, building her self-esteem, and
managing her symptoms of trauma. Building rapport with
Veronica in therapy took several weeks as she reported not
trusting anyone and not wanting to think about what happened
to her. After about 9 weeks of relationship building and safety
planning, I was able to engage her through education on the
dynamics of human trafficking. She reported that it was
especially hard for her to trust men and that she often had a
hard time speaking up. I worked with her on these issues by
teaching her how to be more assertive and by modeling assertive
behaviors. We worked on self-affirmations to help build her
self-esteem. Because Veronica is very self-conscious, practicing
self-affirmations was challenging for her. I often utilized a
trauma-informed curriculum for adolescents called S.E.L.F.
(Safety, Emotions, Loss, and Future) to facilitate healing and
trauma reduction. Veronica reported that grounding techniques
taught via this curriculum helped take her out of her thoughts
and bring her back to the present moment. Some of the
grounding techniques she continues to engage in on a daily
basis include tapping her feet, stretching, writing, walking, and
washing her face when she feels she is becoming numb or
getting lost in thoughts of what happened to her.
Veronica has demonstrated great resiliency. She is attending a
church close to her home and reports having faith in God. She

3. recently enrolled in swimming and volleyball and has made
several friends in the community. I continue to meet with
Veronica on a weekly basis and will be stepping down with her
to biweekly sessions now that she is stable and connected to her
community. Because Veronica does not speak English and is
a child, there are no support groups available in her area for
human trafficking survivors. I am presently working on
connecting her with a mentor.
Veronica is currently working with the human trafficking
agency that referred her, Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), and an attorney to obtain a visa specific to
human trafficking (T-Visa). A T-Visa grants survivors of human
trafficking a visa in the United States. In 2000, Congress passed
the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act
(VTVPA), which strengthens the ability of law enforcement
agencies to investigate and prosecute human trafficking and
also offers protection to victims via a T-Visa. The T-Visa is for
those who are or have been victims of human trafficking. It
protects victims of human trafficking and allows victims to
remain in the United States to assist in an investigation or
prosecution of human trafficking.
Veronica’s mother is also attending weekly individual therapy.
She has been working through the heavy guilt and trauma of this
experience. Veronica and her mother continue to heal, and with
each passing day, they grow stronger.
Discussion: Developing Alliances in Social Work Practice
Have you ever heard the term or saying "straight but not
narrow"? This is an example of a statement of being an ally—
recognizing one's unique position of privilege yet standing with
others who are oppressed. By taking this course, you have
started the process of becoming an ally. Evan and Washington
(2013) identify the steps toward being an ally, which include
being supportive of those who are unlike you, learning about
other cultures, becoming aware of the oppression and

4. marginalization, and becoming aware of one's own privilege.
Getting involved in issues is part of that process. You will
consider how to become an ally this week.
To prepare: Review "Working With Survivors of Human
Trafficking: The Case of Veronica." Think about how one might
become an ally to victims of human trafficking . Then go to a
website that addresses human trafficking either internationally
or domestically.
Post a brief description of the website you visited (Websites
contained below). Explain how you might support Veronica and
other human trafficking victims incorporating the information
you have found. Explain how you can begin to increase your
awareness of this issue and teach others about human trafficking
victims. Describe opportunities to get involved and become an
ally to those who have been trafficked. Identify steps you can
take to begin to support this group.
The Ohio Human Trafficking website contains links to Human
trafficking support at the county level.
Ohio’s website:
https://humantrafficking.ohio.gov/coalitions.html
Montgomery County’s website:
https://www.udayton.edu/artssciences/ctr/hrc/abolition_ohio/ind
ex.php
Be sure to reference the websites about and the following
materials:
Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Castaneda, C., Catalano, D. C.
J., DeJong, K., Hackman, H. W,... Zuniga, X. (Eds.). (2018).
Readings for diversity and social justice (4th ed.). New York,
NY: Routledge Press.
· Chapter 90, (pp. 447-455)
· Chapter 132, (pp. 615-620)
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014).
Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD:
Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-

5. reader].
· “Working With Survivors of Human Trafficking: The Case of
Veronica”
Heading in the discussion post but be:
· A brief description of the website you visited:
· Ohio’s website:
https://humantrafficking.ohio.gov/coalitions.html
· Montgomery County’s website:
https://www.udayton.edu/artssciences/ctr/hrc/abolition_ohio/ind
ex.php
· Explain how you might support Veronica and other human
trafficking victims incorporating the information you have
found.
· Explain how you can begin to increase your awareness of this
issue and teach others about human trafficking victims.
· Describe opportunities to get involved and become an ally to
those who have been trafficked.
· Identify steps you can take to begin to support this group.