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How to use the Three Guiding Questions in practice

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How to use the Three Guiding Questions in practice

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Every survivor is different, and their needs will vary depending on their experiences, culture and current circumstances. You don’t need specialist tools to respond well.

Listening openly, asking curious questions and remaining flexible helps you understand what matters most — and how best to support them right now.

Use this activity to reflect on your practice and identify small, practical shifts you can make to support safety, dignity and agency.

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Q1: Am I tailoring support to this survivor’s unique needs?

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Q1: Am I tailoring support to this survivor’s unique needs?

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Pause and consider:

What might shape this person’s needs right now?
(e.g. safety, culture, communication, privacy, transport, fear of judgement)

Write your reflections:

One thing I would listen for is:
→ _______________________________

One assumption I will actively avoid is:
→ _______________________________

One way I can adapt my approach is:
→ _______________________________

Practice prompt:

“What helps you feel safe or supported right now?”

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Learn how to approach each interaction with survivors in ways that prioritise safety, dignity, agency and healing.

Using HerSpace frameworks, this Padlet walks through what trauma-informed practice looks like in action — from the first moment of contact through to ongoing support. It explores practical approaches that centre survivors’ strengths, lived experience and decision-making.

Recognise
What trauma-informed care looks like in real-world interactions.

Respond
Using practical frameworks grounded in foundational trauma-informed principles.

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When supporting survivors, the HerSpace Model of Survivor Support helps keep safety, healing and choice at the centre. It uses three guiding questions informed by Narrative Therapy — an approach that recognises people as the authors of their own lives.

Why this matters
Trauma can narrow how people see themselves, often shaped by fear, shame or harm. Narrative-informed approaches help open up fuller stories that honour resilience, strength and dignity.

For survivors of modern slavery
Naming exploitation for what it is can be a powerful and validating step. Being believed and acknowledged supports survivors to reclaim their identity and recognise that what happened was not their fault.

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Q2: Am I considering their holistic needs?

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Q2: Am I considering their holistic needs?

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How can I offer more choice and flexibility? When choice is limited or not available, have I explained why?

Reflect on power and choice:

Where might this person have experienced loss of control?

Complete the prompts:

Two meaningful choices I could offer are:

If choice is limited, how I would explain this respectfully:
→ _______________________________

Practice prompts:

“What would you prefer?”

“Here are a couple of options — we can decide together.”

“I can’t do that right now, and I want to explain why.”

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Am I building safety, trust and respect into every interaction?

Check your foundations:
Which trauma-informed principles do I need to prioritise most in this interaction?

(✔ circle or note)

Safety

Trustworthiness

Choice

Collaboration

Empowerment

Cultural, historical and gender awareness

Complete the prompts:

One thing I can do to build safety is:
→ _______________________________

One affirming message I could use is:
→ _______________________________

Affirmations to draw from (use your own words):

I believe you.

It wasn’t your fault.

You deserve dignity and respect.

You are safe right now.

I acknowledge the injustice you experienced.

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After completing this reflection, one small change I will try in my next interaction is:

→ ________________________________

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Use the Crosswalk to apply trauma-informed care across all stages of modern slavery response

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Use the Crosswalk to apply trauma-informed care across all stages of modern slavery response

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The Crosswalk helps you locate where a survivor may be on their journey and identify what trauma-informed care looks like at that stage.

Use it as a navigation tool — not a checklist — to guide how you tailor your response.

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This poll is a quick check-in to help you locate your role and response. It’s not about labelling survivors or assuming their recovery will follow a linear path.

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Based on the continuum of modern slavery response, where does your role most closely sit right now?

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Pre-experience of exploitation (risk & prevention)

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Experience of exploitation (identification & safety)

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Exit from exploitation (crisis or transition)

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Based on your current interaction or concern, where does your role within the continuum of modern slavery response?

For example:

Pre-experience of exploitation (risk and prevention)

Experience of exploitation (identification and safety)

Exit from exploitation (safe pathway out of exploitation)

Recovery and stabilisation (holistic support)

Opportunities post-exploitation (training, education, employment)

Advocacy and systems change (lived experience)

How to think about this:

This is not about labelling a survivor or assuming a linear journey. The continuum helps you locate your role and response based on what is happening now.

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2. Navigate using trauma-informed principles

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2. Navigate using trauma-informed principles

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Using the Crosswalk, which trauma-informed principles should guide your response at this stage?

Safety

Trust and predictability

Choice and autonomy

Collaboration

Empowerment

Cultural, historical and gender awareness

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Which theory or framework from the Guide best supports how you tailor your response at this point?

The Continuum of Modern Slavery Response

Trauma-informed care principles

Judith Herman’s phases of recovery

Psychoeducation

HerSpace Model of Survivor Support

Wellbeing Star

Polyvagal Theory

Narrative approaches

How to think about this:

You don’t need to use every framework at once. Consider which lens best supports what’s needed right now — for example:

Psychoeducation to support understanding and reduce self-blame

Herman’s phases to avoid rushing recovery or decision-making

Polyvagal Theory to understand safety, threat and regulation

The Wellbeing Star to identify practical support priorities

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Based on the Crosswalk, what would you prioritise in how you respond at this time?

A way to think about this:

Tailoring support does not mean doing everything yourself. Consider how you might:

Work collaboratively with colleagues, supervisors or specialist services

Use referral pathways and contact information rather than holding responsibility alone

Draw on trusted resources, such as the Australian Government’s modern slavery website, to stay across current laws, policy settings and guidance

Share information in ways that support choice, understanding and safety

Refer to the Guide (pages 11-14) for practical ways to apply trauma-informed responses to modern slavery.

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Trauma-informed police resources for human trafficking cases

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Trauma-informed police resources for human trafficking cases

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Authors

Katherine J. McLachlan Criminology, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia; Parole Board of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia

Keywords:
trauma-informed practice, trauma-informed criminal justice, trauma-responsive, compassionate justice, trauma-informed policing

Abstract

Trauma-informed care and practice was developed over 20 years ago and is emerging as a way of working for the police, in corrections and courts, and broader contexts such as health and education services. I started my criminal justice career with South Australia Police in 2001. It was not until 2014 that I first heard the term "trauma-informed," which was regarding victim services. Back then, it was unclear how it might be applied in practice. Soon after, I was appointed to the Parole Board of South Australia in 2015. As a Parole Board member, I have interviewed more than 1,000 adults, many with chronic offending histories and most with trauma histories. In this paper, I draw from local case studies and apply the SAMHSA (2014) trauma-informed practice framework to explore "trauma-informed" policing. Trauma is understood to mean the impact of adversity (i.e., potentially traumatic events and experiences) on an individual's functioning and well-being. I outline the ABCs of a trauma-informed policing response: (A) trauma-informed policing requires an agenda, (B) trauma-informed policing is broad, and (C) trauma-informed policing is compassionate. Without the ABCs of traumainformed policing, police responses may be, at best, well-intentioned good practice, but they should not be considered to be trauma-informed.

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Katherine J. McLachlan Criminology, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia; Parole Board of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia trauma-informed practice, trauma-informed criminal justice, trauma-responsive, compassionate justice, trauma-informed policing Trauma-informed care and practice was developed over 20 years ago and is emerging as a way of working for the police, in corrections and courts, and broader contexts such as health and education services.

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Proposing trauma-informed practice and response in policing: A social innovation narrative for reforming responses to child sexual abuse and exploitation | Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being

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Mary K. Twis, PhD, LMSW-AP TCU & The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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A Systematic Review of Empirically Evaluated Trauma-Informed Care Principles in Criminal Justice System Responses to Human Trafficking | Journal of Forensic Social Work

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Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) has been recognized as a valuable framework for improving engagement with trauma survivors, yet its full implementation within the criminal justice system – particularly as these systems relate to human trafficking survivors – remains limited. This systematic review synthesizes empirical studies examining the application of TIC principles within criminal justice system responses to human trafficking. Specifically, the review examines a) the extent to which study authors have recommended specific guidelines for implementing TIC within policing, prosecution, and court procedures with human trafficking survivors, and b) the strength of the evidence to support these recommendations. We conducted a systematic literature search of empirical studies of TIC in the justice subsystems that interact with human trafficking survivors. Inclusion criteria were set a priori as peer-reviewed, full-text, English-language studies published between 2014-2024; articles published with samples outside of the United States or not explicitly addressing TIC, human trafficking, and/or the criminal justice system were excluded from the sample. After conducting title, abstract, and full-text reviews, 11 studies met the criteria and were extracted for analysis. The results of the systematic review highlight significant gaps in the research on TIC’s impact on survivor outcomes in the justice subsystems that serve them. While some evidence suggests potential benefits of TIC, including improved survivor trust, higher prosecution success rates, and enhanced trafficking identification, rigorously evaluated evidence to support TIC integration remains scarce. Despite these limitations, existing TIC guidelines can provide a foundation for targeted implementation in criminal justice subsystems, inclusive of policing, prosecution, and the courts.