Dismantling Perfect Survivor Propaganda in the Anti-Trafficking Movement

By Jaimia Mccoy

While we know that human trafficking exists and is prevalent in our society, there is often the misconception of who is most subject to kind of crime against humanity. Disability critical race theory is a coined phrase that envelopes the vulnerabilities that correlate to the tactics that are used within human trafficking. Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) is an intersectional framework that examines the interplay between race and disability. To have a more thorough understanding of what this means, one must take time to evaluate the historical context that contemporarily exists on a national level. In the United States alone, “approximately 15% of the population has a disability. Black/African-American communities have the highest disability prevalence (14%), followed by Non-Hispanic white (11%), Hispanic/Latino (8%), and Asian (5%) populations.” (1) The most discomforting fact that comes from reading these statistics is knowing that this automatically subjects a diversly abled person who identifies as a person of color to human trafficking, interpersonal violence, and criminalization.

It’s more important now more than ever to acknowledge the insidious ways that human trafficking shows up more pervasively in our country. It is entrenched throughout the creation and history of our society. Because of this subjectification, the main beneficiaries of these crimes continue to profit from human trafficking tactics through means of settler colonialism, apartheid, exploitation, sexual abuse, ethnic cleansing, gender-based violence and so much more. Human trafficking defined is a crime that involves forcing, compelling, coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. This form of abuse can be so subtle that one has no idea what is happening to them, their loved ones or their belongings. On the opposite side of the paradigm, this abuse can be so brazen that one (or many) are physically restrained from knowing or accessing their human right and their human dignity. Rather than conjuring a history lesson that is a topic in it’s own sphere, in relation, it seems more imminent to discuss the harm done as a result of colonialism. In order to understand how this matters in relation to disability critical race theory, the masses will be prompted to evaluate this myriad of victimizations through an intersectionality lens of understanding. Kimberle Crenshaw, the abolitionist and scholar, coined this term in to 1980s to intentionally focus on the ways identities interplay and how those identities that person embodies further marginalizes them. It shows how inevitably these identities  predispose a person to violence on at least one or all -ism sphere(s). It emphasizes how diagnoses are weaponized and criminalized.

To acknowledge that chattel slavery was (and is) a real belief system that formed this country is to understand that it has now been modernized. The most marginalized groups of people are still under these same tactics of oppression. Furthermore, the same systems that claimed runaway enslaved people suffered from a mental disease are now misdiagnosing Americans who identify within the African diaspora with a diverse ability. The same systems that created slave patrol systems are now criminalizing dis-ease and dis-ability. A specific case that can be referenced is that of Cyntoia Brown. Born with a fetal alcohol disorder and subject to sexual abuse at a very young age when she was subsequently diagnosed with conduct disorder, she ran away from home on numerous occasions before meeting her trafficker. (2) One day, she was picked up for sex by a 43 year old man who attempted to rape her. An act of self-defense in fear for her life, resulted in a murder, and she was convicted of murder and robbery at the age of 16. She was sent to adult prison where she spent 15 years before she was finally listened to. While she was given clemency and is now able to repair what was stolen from her, she will remain on parole for another 8 years. She can’t violate her parole or she will be sent back to prison to complete her sentence. This story caught media attention in the midst of her disclosing what happened to her, to people who prioritized listening to her instead of attempting to silence her.

In conclusion, disability critical race theory is a framework that can be used to combat human trafficking by appropriately examining trafficking law. It can be used to evaluate how systems are economically benefitting from the hyper-criminalization of diversely abled people of color. This intersection sheds light on the existing complexities of human trafficking and underscores the need for a holistic approach to supporting our most marginalized communities.

References:

1.     Catrone, R.G., Baires, N.A., Martin Loya, M.R. et al. An Intersectional Examination of Disability and Race Models in Behavior-Analytic Practice. Behav. Soc. Iss. 32, 152–181 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-022-00116-z

2.     Rein, R. (2022). Suffering at the Margins: Applying Disability Critical Race Studies to Trafficking in the United States. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 42(2), 183–256. https://doi.org/10.52214/cjgl.v42i2.9065

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jaimia Mccoy

Jiamia McCoy, (she/her/ella), has her BSW and identifies as Black/African American. She is Indiana Legal Services’ anti trafficking social worker, also recognized as a survivor’s advocate, and the first ever in her position based out of Indianapolis. She’s been working with Indiana Legal Services since August 2020 and in the non-profit sector serving survivors of crime for approximately 7 years while she acquired her education in human/social services. She collaboratively works with a team comprised of work rights and survivor rights legal staff – supporting survivors of labor exploitation and human trafficking. Not only is she extremely passionate about anti-racism being prioritized in the anti-trafficking movement and non-profit sector as a whole, she has built curriculums along with conducted robust trainings surrounding the origins and domains of racism in the human trafficking movement. She’s an esteemed survivor educator and consultant on the topics of anti-blackness, decolonization, and anti-oppression. She’s made it a priority in her work to shift the language and perspective to prioritize racial justice and equity within every part of society. Additionally, she’s led as a chair member on multiple state coalitions surrounding anti-trafficking and anti-racism. Outside of ILS, she is a participant in the abolition movement and activist for human & civil rights. She’s also a yoga practitioner, lover of wellness and planting, a mother, and spends most of her time in a book or with family & friends in community. 

A Black/African America woman smiling broadly, wearing a back top with a African print with a black jacket. Her braids are pulled back.