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An increase in nightmares and/or other sleeping difficulties

Withdrawn behavior

Angry outbursts

Anxiety

Depression

Not wanting to be left alone with a particular individual(s)

Sexual knowledge, language, and/or behaviors that are inappropriate for the child’s age

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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Children who have been sexually abused may display a range of emotional and behavioral reactions, many of which are characteristic of children who have experienced other types of trauma. These reactions include:

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A short but pretty useful video on bullying - something that you can show to your students.

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A short but pretty useful video on bullying - something that you can show to your students.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQZ9hDDz704

I think a big problem with bullying is that those who are bullied often keep quiet and do not report it to anyone. They are simply shy and blame themselves. It is important that we teach our students and children to always report a situation that made them feel uncomfortable.

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This was new to me when I did the reading on bullying before our VC. But it is important that we do not labels students with words such as 'bully' and 'victim'. Instead, describe their behavior.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY20tHogxkE

What to teach our students about reacting to witnessing bullying. 5 actionable strategies we can teach our children and students so they know how to react when they witness bullying.

1. Do not engage / Tell the person who bullies that this is wrong.
2. Be a good friend to those who are bullied (include them in activities).
3. Tell an adult - but we need to teach children how to do it, how to express their feelings.
4. Stop spreading rumors / gossip / name calling.
5. Express and embrace differences - we are all different. Teaching students that we should embracer we are all different is a good step towards preventing bullying.

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What to do when you witness bullying occur

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How to help your students who are bullied.

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How to help your students who are bullied.

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https://www.prevnet.ca/bullying/educators/helping-students-who-are-bullied

This short article discussed 3 strategies on how to help your students are are bullied:

1. Teach them social skills, teach them to be assertive.
2. Build self-esteem - ask those who are being bullied to participate in activities and games. Organize activities that highlight their talents for other students to see.
3. Encourage students to report - tell the students what your role as a teach is and that can always come and talk to you. Schools can also provide various ways for students to report bullying such as comment boxes (make sure the notes that are placed there are read).

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Teach Social Skills

Kids who are bullied often find it difficult to stand up for themselves. Encourage students who are bullied to be assertive: use role-playing and coach students on how to act (looking people in the eye) and say confidently that bullying behaviour is not OK. Help them determine if there is anything they are doing to make the problem worse.

Build Self-Esteem

Encourage students who are bullied to participate in activities they enjoy or are good at to help them build self-esteem. Highlight their talents for other students to see; this can help them change their reputation in the peer group and reduce their chances of being bullied.

Encourage Children To Report

Make sure your students know that it is a teacher's job to deal with bullying and all incidents should be reported. Clarify the difference between tattling and telling: tattling is what you do to get someone in trouble; telling is what you do to get someone out of trouble. Provide alternative ways to report bullying at school - an anonymous bullying box can help children who may be uncomfortable about coming forward.

It takes courage for children to report bullying, be ready to listen.
Read more on bullying facts and solutions

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Teach Social SkillsKids who are bullied often find it difficult to stand up for themselves. Encourage students who are bullied to be assertive: use role-playing and coach students on how to act (looking people in the eye) and say confidently that bullying behaviour is not OK.

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https://www.learningforjustice.org/professional-development/bullying-guidelines-for-teachers

Sometimes, it is difficult even for teachers to deal with bullying. It is important to know strategies and actions we, as teachers, can take when we witness or are informed about bullying. One important thing to notice (again) is that bystanders might also need help. Moreover, they should be informed how to act next time they witness bullying.

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This piece accompanies Bullying Basics. Some anti-bullying policies actually do more harm than good. Educators can use these tips to intervene appropriately when bullying occurs.

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https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/warning-signs

This website outlines signs that will help you identify students are are bullied. But it is also important to being able to identify those who bully or are likely to bully other to prevent it from happening. If you have students who show signs that they might be bullying others make sure that you react - my suggestion would be to speak to other teachers / form tutors / safeguarding teams in your school about your concerns.

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There are many warning signs that may indicate that someone is affected by bullying-either being bullied or bullying others. Recognizing the warning signs is an important first step in taking action against bullying. Not all children who are bullied or are bullying others ask for help.

It is important to talk with children who show signs of being bullied or bullying others. These warning signs can also point to other issues or problems, such as depression or substance abuse. Talking to the child can help identify the root of the problem.

Signs a Child Is Being Bullied

Look for changes in the child. However, be aware that not all children who are bullied exhibit warning signs.

Some signs that may point to a bullying problem are:

Unexplainable injuries

Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry

Frequent headaches or stomach aches, feeling sick or faking illness

Changes in eating habits, like suddenly skipping meals or binge eating. Kids may come home from school hungry because they did not eat lunch.

Difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares

Declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting to go to school

Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations

Feelings of helplessness or decreased self esteem

Self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide

If you know someone in serious distress or danger, don't ignore the problem. Get help right away.

Signs a Child is Bullying Others

Kids may be bullying others if they:

Get into physical or verbal fights

Have friends who bully others

Are increasingly aggressive

Get sent to the principal's office or to detention frequently

Have unexplained extra money or new belongings

Blame others for their problems

Don't accept responsibility for their actions

Are competitive and worry about their reputation or popularity

Why don't kids ask for help?

Statistics from the 2018 Indicators of School Crime and Safety - PDF show that only 20% of school bullying incidents were reported. Kids don't tell adults for many reasons:

Bullying can make a child feel helpless. Kids may want to handle it on their own to feel in control again. They may fear being seen as weak or a tattletale.

Kids may fear backlash from the kid who bullied them.

Bullying can be a humiliating experience. Kids may not want adults to know what is being said about them, whether true or false. They may also fear that adults will judge them or punish them for being weak.

Kids who are bullied may already feel socially isolated. They may feel like no one cares or could understand.

Kids may fear being rejected by their peers. Friends can help protect kids from bullying, and kids can fear losing this support.

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Recognize the warning signs for bullying to help prevent it.

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Understanding Complex Trauma as it pertains to children.

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Understanding Complex Trauma as it pertains to children.

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Complex Trauma can be understood as the exposure and experience of various types of traumatic events. In childhood, it is most significant when children experience various types of traumatic events by their immediate caregivers. Such trauma can be:

Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Emotional Neglect, Emotional Abuse, Physical & Medical Neglect, Witnessing rape & physical abuse to one's mother, and War, Terrorism & Force Migration.

The challenges that children with complex trauma experience can range from completely withdrawing from their immediate experience (dissociation) to being extremely aggressive as a result of their inability to express their feelings.  Children with complex trauma may grow up to experience "social thinning", which is where they lose care and love from caregivers and struggling to create positive relationships with others.

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Childhood Trauma and the Brain | UK Trauma Council

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1. Attachment & Relationships: Social Thinning -  children grow up to struggle with developing positive relationships with others.
2. Physical Health (Body & Brain): The child' immune and body's stress response system may suffer as a result of complex trauma. Panic and anxiety attacks as well as depressive states may occur a lot more in children how go through extremely traumatic experiences in comparison to their peers.
3. Emotional Responses: they get overwhelmed easily, struggle with challenging situations and may be afraid of trying or volunteering to speak up in academic settings.
4. Dissociation: Children may have "out of body" experiences where they may be experiencing abusive events or neglect, but are numb to the situation or kind of watch themselves being abused from a completely different perspective than someone who is actively aware of something negative happening to them.
5. Behaviour: aggressive and sudden extreme change to behaviour. Often a result of them not knowing where to channel their emotions, how to identify them and how to express them.
6.Cognition (Thinking & Learning): struggle with acquiring new skills, developing and exploring interests, inability to stay focused at school. Complex trauma victims usually struggle with various learning difficulties as a result of their exposure to the abuse and neglect they've directly or indirectly experienced.
7. Self-Concept & Future Orientation: self-worth and self-esteem low.
8. Long-Term Health Consequences: goes into adulthood, chronic illness like heart disease, cancer and dying in their youth.
9. Economic Impact: As complex trauma is treated, it could begin to cost families large sums of money to get effective treatment that help reduce PTSD in children.

REFERENCES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HWYLStBwPA

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Response Strategies - Supporting Students Who Experience Trauma

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Response Strategies - Supporting Students Who Experience Trauma

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Since complex trauma arises as a result of various traumatic experiences, it should be noted that various strategies can be used to help alleviate (not solve) the effects that the trauma has had on them. The following are strategies shared by Venet (2014) in the Edutopia post "Supporting Students Who Experience Trauma."

1. Build Relationships: Fostering strong and trust-worthy relationships with students who have experienced a wide range of trauma may be beneficial to helping them know that they are able to trust people and that they are able to go beyond their homes and receive the care they may not be receiving at home.
2. Provide Choice: Students (children) who've experience traumatic events usually find that they might not have had much choice when those events took place (as well as if they still do take place). As a result, it might be relatively difficult for them to understand that they too can have a voice by practicing choice.
3. Ease Transitions: Letting children who've experienced trauma know about what to expect to happen next can help ease anxiety that is induce by uncertainty.
4. Attachment-focused treatment for the family:
The family goes through a series of therapy to help the parent resolve the issues that lead to traumatic experiences in children.
5. Take care of yourself: Teacher's need to be aware that while they're being there for their students, that it can be draining for them as teachers and that in order to show up and be present for students who experience or have experienced complex trauma, teachers need to practice self-care to avoid "compassion fatigue".
6. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy & Child-Parent Psychotherapy: These two types of therapy are set in place for children who have experienced or are experiencing complex trauma and they aim to help reduce PTSD. It is also important to note the importance of Child-Parent Psychotherapy as parents too might need assistance overcoming aspects of their lives that could be contributing to their children's traumatic experiences.

REFERENCES

Complex Trauma - https://istss.org/public-resources/trauma-blog/2003-winter/the-national-child-traumatic-stress-network-improv?gclid=Cj0KCQiA-JacBhC0ARIsAIxybyOblERvjnxNtmZeFqZ7QWAK913_NiKyHRPy9SFhgsZRvqvDOAeG4wUaAprcEALw_wcB

Childhood Trauma and the Brain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYBUY1kZpf8&t=12s

How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across A Lifetime - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk

Trauma-Informed Strategies - https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/trauma-informed-strategies/

Five Ways to  Support Students Affected by Trauma -  https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_ways_to_support_students_affected_by_trauma

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https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/ten-ways-a-teacher-can-address-bullying/

Addressing bullying can be challenging. Teachers and educators should, therefore, do their best to prevent it. Of course it is not always possible but things can be done to minimize the risk of bullying happening in your classrooms / school.

Some of the suggestions are:
Make a list - list appropriate and inappropriate behavior and share the list with your students.

Encourage feedback - encourage students to communicate with you if they witnessed behavior thatchy suspect might be bullying.

Involve parents - Make parents aware so they can also speak to their children about appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Inform them if their child is involved in bullying.

Monitor hallways - pretty much self-explanatory - make sure there is always someone on duty in hallways during break times.

Show films - you can show age-appropriate films to your students about effects of bullying.

Be firm and consistent - have rules and follow them. Consistency is the key.

Stop bullying when you see it - stop bullying as soon as you see it. Do not wait and watch it unfold. Act immediately.

Hold assemblies - educate your students during assemblies and form time.

Be supportive - support those who were bullied. Show them that you care and are there for them.

Don’t ignore it - do not pretend there is no bullying if actually happens in your classroom / school. Be open about it and do your best to stop it.

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10 Ways a Teacher Can Address Bullying | Resilient Educator

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Student bullying is an increasingly serious problem at many schools and teachers need to know what steps to take to stop the problem from growing.

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10 Ways a Teacher Can Address Bullying

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https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/attachments/responding-to-bullying-tips-for-teachers_0.pdf

It is crucial that we, as teachers, properly reposed to bullying. Otherwise, or inappropriate action can cause more harm than good. This website lists a number of strategies that teachers and schools should follow:

1. Make sure that students know how to report bullying behaviour and that support is well publicised - very important that students know how to report bullying and that they will be supported when reporting it (both those who are bullied and those who witnessed it).

2. Make sure you take every report of bullying seriously - it is also crucial to take reporting of bullying seriously but also having a clear definition what bullying is.

3. Keep a record of what has taken place and action taken - keep track of everything that happened and was reported. Also, make sure you keep track of all the actions you have taken.

4. Stick to the facts. - facts, facts, facts - do not make assumptions, stick to the facts, try to gather solid evidence.

5. Assess whether the child is at risk of harm - follow the school's safeguarding policy if you suspect a child is at risk of harm (children who are bullied or those who have witnessed it).

6. Ask the child what they want to happen - include children who are bullied. They often fear bullying will get worse if they report it, so keep them included in your resolution process.

7. Make sure that responses to bullying challenge and change the bullying behaviour, not try to change the child being bullied - do not blame those who are bullied, do not ask them to change because it is their fault and if they change the bullying will stop. Address problems with those who bully.

8. Be clear on your response to bullying - state clearly in your school policy what bullying is and how to respond to it. Make sure everyone knows it.

9. Don’t stop until the incident is resolved – and then keep going  and don't stop communicating - make sure you do not stop until the issue is resolved and communicate clearly with those involved what has been done and what you are going to do to avoid similar situations in the future.

10. Keep learning, changing and getting better at what you do - you might never be able to get rid of bullying but you should be learning from your experience. This will allow you to spot bullying faster and deal with it better.

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Providing Support to Children Who Are Bullied: Tips for School Personnel And Other Adults

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Providing Support to Children Who Are Bullied: Tips for School Personnel And Other Adults

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https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/safetycenter/bullyingharassment/pubdocs/tipsforschoolpersonnelandothers-supportfortargetofbullying.pdf

A very informative article for teachers and adults on how to help those who experience bullying. Good, step-by-step instructions how to support those who are bullied.

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https://www.prevnet.ca/bullying/educators/helping-students-who-bully

We must not forget that when it comes to bullying there is a person who is bullied and a person who bullies. It is important that we also address those who bully as this might help us to stop them from doing it again.

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Change they way they use their power

Kids who bully need help developing problem-solving skills that don't involve aggression. Provide them with opportunities to use their natural leadership skills in a positive way, for example, get them to teach younger students a new sport or skill. Help kids who bully resist peer pressure by letting them know you believe they can change their behaviour.

Acknowledge positive behaviours

Encourage positive connections among children by praising respectful and cooperative behaviour whenever it happens. Try and focus on the positive behaviours of all students, even when they need correcting. Children are works in progress - they can't always get it right - they learn through trial and error.

Consequences that teach, not punish

Children who bully need help in understanding the impact of their actions. Formative consequences are designed to send the message that bullying is unacceptable while also providing support for children who bully to learn the social skills and empathy they may lack.

Formative Consequences for Students Who Bully

Have students create a poster, collage, or drawing of what it must feel like to be bullied. Talk about the feelings that children who are bullied might experience: shame, embarrassment, anger, fear or sadness.

Assign students a research project where they have to learn about the prevalence, nature, and consequences of bullying and write a paper or create a class presentation based on their findings.

Have the students who bully interview an adult or older student about their bullying experiences and the impact it had on him/her.

Assign a project requiring the students who bully to research a historical figure or celebrity who has been bullied.

Have the students read a novel about bullying and write a character study (e.g., Blubber by Judy Blume)

Have the students watch a movie about bullying and describe the characters and the consequences of their actions (e.g., Mean Girls, Back to the Future). Encourage them to focus on the feelings of the victimized character. Help them to identify these feelings by looking out for facial expressions, body posture, and tone of voice.

Have your students identify instances of bullying in the media (e.g., television, newspapers, radio, magazines, websites) and talk with them about their reactions to these instances.

Talk with your students about their own strengths and weaknesses and how they can use power to help, not hurt, others.

Other tips on how children can make amends and be empowered through kindness.

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Kids who bully need help developing problem-solving skills that don't involve aggression. Provide them with opportunities to use their natural leadership skills in a positive way, for example, get them to teach younger students a new sport or skill. Help kids who bully resist peer pressure by letting them know you believe they can change their behaviour.

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The Topic is new for me, but the following information I think it helps to know more about the Refugee Trauma Intervention.

Mental health providers should consider how the refugee experience (e.g., exposure to hunger, thirst, and lack of shelter; injury and illness; being a witness, victim, or perpetrator of violence; fleeing your home and country; separating from family; living in a refugee camp; resettling in a new country; and navigating between the new culture and the culture of origin) may contribute to a child or adolescent’s emotional or behavioral presentation in a clinic, school, or community setting.

Video Resource
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKvR7au-VmA
https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/refugee-trauma/interventions

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0:00 / 3:12•Watch full video

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What is Refugee Trauma ?
Refugee Definition:
A refugee is someone who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. (Article 1 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees)

Refugee  Trauma symptoms
Events that refugees have experienced related to war or persecution can all be called “traumatic events.” It is important to note that children are very resilient and can often cope with difficult experiences and events in healthy and productive ways. Such children may not display any symptoms and may not need service providers to intervene. However, for some children, exposure to traumatic events has a profound and lasting effect on their daily functioning. Exposure to traumatic events can cause the following general symptoms in children of ages in elementary :

Changes in their behavior such as aggression, anger, irritability, withdrawal from others, and sadness

Trouble at school

Trouble with peers

Fear of separation from parents

Fear of something bad happening

general symptoms in children  of ages in middle school :

A sense of responsibility or guilt for the bad things that have happened

Feelings of shame or embarrassment

Feelings of helplessness

Changes in how they think about the world

Loss of faith

Problems in relationships including peers, family, and teachers

Conduct problems

Refugee Assessment :
Refugee Services Core Stressor Assessment Tool. Provides users with information about four core stressors that refugees commonly face and guides them through an assessment of a particular youth or family's needs. Based on the assessment, tailored recommendations for resources and interventions are generated through this web-based resource developed by the Refugee Trauma and Resilience Center.

Refugee Standardized Measures. Includes a list of mental health measures that have been translated and used with some of the refugee groups currently being resettled at the highest rates in the US. For some of these measures, additional Information regarding reliability and validity is available in the Measure Reviews Database.
Video Resource https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CIC6l7LRDk
https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/refugee-trauma/interventions

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Implementing SEL plan and other strategies to support Refugee students

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Implementing SEL plan and other strategies to support Refugee students

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1. Develop a trauma-informed team: Supporting refugee students successfully requires all hands on deck in schools. This means that it’s important for school leaders, counselors, teachers, and organizations that provide wraparound services to be trauma-informed and support each other.

2. Empathize with students: Empathy for perspective-taking is a critical step to becoming trauma-informed, especially if we don’t have firsthand experience with certain traumas. As teachers, we shouldn’t be trauma detectives, but we can be proactive by becoming informed about types of trauma. This background can be helpful when encountering sensitive cases.

3. Make them feel safe: Trauma can alter how the brain and the central nervous system function for many young people and can cause them to feel unsafe. In extreme cases, sufferers may experience danger, terror, or constant threat. Unfortunately, these deep feelings of insecurity and fear may show up in other areas of their life, including play, relationships, and school. Educators can help make their classrooms physically, intellectually, and emotionally safer by establishing good norms and community agreements.

Here are some good ones:

Bring our best self to class.

Be mindful of the boundaries of others.

Respect the privacy of others.

Be mindful of airtime when speaking.

Speak from the heart and be open to feedback.

Listen from the heart and respect others when they speak.

Take this space to heal and grow.

4. Remain consistent and predictable: Children of all ages with traumatic experiences can be on high alert. Providing consistency and predictability through your demeanor, fairness (being equitable), class norms and expectations, shared agreements, use of protocols, thinking routines, pacing, accountability, and scheduling can help put them at ease.

For example, I like to format instructional time similarly on most days (10 minutes for a mini-lesson, 35 minutes for work time, and 10 minutes for reflection and debrief).

If we need to meet with a student(s), avoid vagueness about intentions or creating uncertainty by saying things like “We need to talk” or “I need to tell you something.” Instead, be kind and specific: “I would love to talk about your essay. I know we can make it better with some tweaking.”

5. Know our limitations: When psychological trauma becomes overwhelming for refugee students, it might be necessary to assist families in seeking access to professional therapy for their child. Remember, our trauma-informed SEL plan is for helping refugee students cope and begin healing, but it isn’t meant to replace professional trauma-informed treatment.
Resource  Reference
https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-trauma-informed-strategies-supporting-refugee-students/

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Trauma-Informed Practices

Educators can take the initiative to provide safe and welcoming spaces in their classrooms and school community.

Since 1980, the U.S. has resettled approximately 3 million refugees, and our recent withdrawal from Afghanistan will add many more to classrooms in most states. With the current influx of refugee students, teachers will have the task of supporting their integration into American society while bearing in mind the trauma(s) they may have endured.

While being aware of the factors contributing to students' leaving their country as refugees (war, persecution, or natural disaster) can provide some context for students' backgrounds, it's most important for educators to understand and provide the compassionate empathy required to support the students entering our classrooms in the coping and healing process.

Bringing trauma-informed strategies into the classroom is a universal approach for providing all students with emotional and/or psychological support. These strategies can also be adapted to help refugee students with their resiliency skills and prepare them for social and emotional learning (SEL).

We can consider the following strategies as we strive to offer support by making students feel safe and cared for.

Research Countries of Origin and Culture

Historically, refugees resettling in the United States have come from all over the world. There are also thousands of Haitian migrants who have been seeking asylum in the United States since 2010. Culture from their country of origin can comprise language, religion, beliefs, norms, familial and social habits and behavior, symbols (gestures), cuisine, artifacts, music, and art. Educators can commit to understanding the cultural nuances and customs that may hinder them from forming relationships and learning partnerships with their refugee students.

Often, refugees' cultural identities and values are positioned as inferior within the new societies they enter and may leave them feeling and experiencing critical moments of their lives (school/work) as outsiders. This leads to cultural marginalization, as they live within two cultures but aren't fully integrated into either of them. This is an unfortunate situation to be in through no fault of their own. It hinders their progress and allows others to avoid helping when they could.

In schools, acknowledging refugee students' cultures and backgrounds creates cultural awareness between them and their peers and also welcomes them to school and the community by positioning their cultures as strengths and positive additions to the learning community.

Use Trauma-Informed SEL Strategies

An important goal in trauma-informed classrooms is awareness of the signs of trauma; have a tool kit of strategies to help students and not re-traumatize them. Educators can help refugee students in the healing process by working with them to establish healthy relationships and safe spaces in schools where positive interactions, acceptance, unconditional regard, and kind words are the norm. SEL is an effective vehicle for carrying out and normalizing trauma-informed pedagogy in classrooms.

Although we may not initially see how SEL and trauma-informed teaching connect, SEL lessons can be tailored to meet the needs of children who've experienced trauma by providing them the emotional intelligence acuity to recognize their emotional trauma. Labeling emotions is the first step in identifying triggers and self-management strategies, including healing. Plutchik's wheel of emotions and an emotions planner are initial tools that can be used for this purpose.

Here's a short list of some of the most widely used trauma-informed teaching practices to help refine trauma-informed SEL plans.

1. Develop a trauma-informed team: Supporting refugee students successfully requires all hands on deck in schools. This means that it's important for school leaders, counselors, teachers, and organizations that provide wraparound services to be trauma-informed and support each other.

Bring our best self to class.

Be mindful of the boundaries of others.

Respect the privacy of others.

Be mindful of airtime when speaking.

Speak from the heart and be open to feedback.

Listen from the heart and respect others when they speak.

Take this space to heal and grow.

2. Empathize with students: Empathy for perspective-taking is a critical step to becoming trauma-informed, especially if we don't have firsthand experience with certain traumas. As teachers, we shouldn't be trauma detectives, but we can be proactive by becoming informed about types of trauma. This background can be helpful when encountering sensitive cases.

3. Make them feel safe:Trauma can alter how the brain and the central nervous system function for many young people and can cause them to feel unsafe. In extreme cases, sufferers may experience danger, terror, or constant threat. Unfortunately, these deep feelings of insecurity and fear may show up in other areas of their life, including play, relationships, and school. Educators can help make their classrooms physically, intellectually, and emotionally safer by establishing good norms and community agreements.

4. Remain consistent and predictable: Children of all ages with traumatic experiences can be on high alert. Providing consistency and predictability through your demeanor, fairness (being equitable), class norms and expectations, shared agreements, use of protocols, thinking routines, pacing, accountability, and scheduling can help put them at ease.

For example, I like to format instructional time similarly on most days (10 minutes for a mini-lesson, 35 minutes for work time, and 10 minutes for reflection and debrief). Samantha Bennett's adaptation of the Workshop Model is a helpful example of this.

If we need to meet with a student(s), avoid vagueness about intentions or creating uncertainty by saying things like "We need to talk" or "I need to tell you something." Instead, be kind and specific: "I would love to talk about your essay. I know we can make it better with some tweaking."

5. Know our limitations: When psychological trauma becomes overwhelming for refugee students, it might be necessary to assist families in seeking access to professional therapy for their child. Remember, our trauma-informed SEL plan is for helping refugee students cope and begin healing, but it isn't meant to replace professional trauma-informed treatment.

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5 Trauma-Informed Strategies for Supporting Refugee Students

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Educators can take the initiative to provide safe and welcoming spaces in their classrooms and school community.

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Common childhood reactions to terrorism and trauma. 

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Common childhood reactions to terrorism and trauma. 

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Some of the most common reactions we can spot in students that have been exposed to extreme violence are:

1. ASD
2. PTSD
3. Anxiety
4. Depression
5. Regressive behaviors
6. Separation problems
7. Sleep difficulties
8. Behavioral problems

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Childhood Reactions to Terrorism-Induced Trauma: A Review of the Past 10 Years

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To summarize the literature about the clinical presentation and treatment interventions of childhood reactions to terrorism-induced trauma.The literat…

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An example of strategies we can use to help students understand terrorism

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An example of strategies we can use to help students understand terrorism

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A Teacher Talks About Terrorism and Religion With Students

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Helping children to cope with terrorism.

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Helping children to cope with terrorism.

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There are a lot of tools we can use as educators in order to help our student to cope with terrorism-caused trauma. The ones that struck me the most are:

1. Model calm and control: it can be hard to do this as the situation can be affecting us as well. But we are the ones that have more tools and should be stronger.
2. Tell children the truth: it is better to be totally honest and show that traumatic events need to be acknowledged and approached in a constructive way, no matter how hard it is.
3. Maintain normal routines: being busy and moving on has to be one of the top strategies. Life needs to continue no matter how hard it is. Students need full support from their teachers.
(full list in the link)

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National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

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Intentional acts of violence that hurt innocent people are frightening and upsetting. Children and youth will look to adults for information and guidance on how to react. Families and school personnel can help children cope first and foremost by establishing a sense of safety and security. As information becomes available, adults can continue to help children work through their emotions and, perhaps, even use the process as a learning experience.

All Adults Should:

1. Model calm and control. Children take their emotional cues from the significant adults in their lives. Avoid appearing anxious or frightened.

2. Reassure children they are safe and (if true) so are the important adults and other loved ones in their lives. Depending on the situation, point out factors that help ensure their immediate safety and that of their community.

3. Remind them trustworthy people are in charge. Explain that emergency workers, police, firefighters, doctors, and the government are helping people who are hurt and are working to ensure that no further tragedies like this occur.

4. Let children know it is okay to feel upset. Explain all feelings are okay when a tragedy like this occurs. Let children talk about their feelings and help put them into perspective. Even anger is okay, but children may need help and patience from adults to assist them in expressing these feelings appropriately.

5. Tell children the truth. Don't try to pretend the event has not occurred or that it is not serious. Children are smart. They will be more worried if they think you are too afraid to tell them what is happening. At the same time it will be important to tell children that while the threat of terrorism is real, the chances they will be personally affected is low

6. Stick to the facts. Don't embellish or speculate about what has happened, or where another attack might occur. Don't dwell on the scale or scope of the tragedy, particularly with young children.

7. Be careful not to stereotype people or countries that might be associated with the violence. Children can easily generalize negative statements and develop prejudice. Talk about tolerance and justice versus vengeance. Stop any bullying or teasing immediately.

8. Keep your explanations developmentally appropriate. Early elementary school children need brief, simple information that should be balanced with reassurances that the daily structures of their lives will not change. Upper elementary and early middle school children will be more vocal in asking questions about whether they truly are safe. They may need assistance separating reality from fantasy. Upper middle school and high school students will have strong and varying opinions about the causes of violence and threats to safety in schools and society. They will share concrete suggestions about how to make school safer and how to prevent tragedies in society. They will be more committed to doing something to help the victims and affected community. For all children, encourage them to verbalize their thoughts and feelings. Be a good listener!

9. Maintain a "normal" routine. To the extent possible stick to normal classroom or family routines but don't be inflexible. Children may have a hard time concentrating on schoolwork or falling asleep at night.

10. Monitor or restrict exposure to scenes of the event as well as the aftermath. In particular, monitor exposure to social media. For older children, caution against accessing news coverage from only one source.

11. Observe children's emotional state. Depending on their age, children may not express their concerns verbally. Changes in behavior, appetite, and sleep patterns can also indicate a child's level of grief, anxiety or discomfort. Children will express their emotions differently. There is no right or wrong way to feel or express fear or grief.

12. Be aware of children at greater risk. Children who have a connection to this particular event, have had a past traumatic experience or personal loss, suffer from depression or other mental illness, or with special needs may be at greater risk for severe reactions than others. Be particularly observant for those who may be at risk of suicide. Seek the help of a mental health professional if you are at all concerned.

13. Provide an outlet for students' desire to help. Consider making get well cards or sending letters to the families and survivors of the tragedy, or writing thank you letters to doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals as well as emergency rescue workers, firefighters and police.

14. Keep lines of communication open between home and school. Schools are a good place for children to experience a sense of normalcy. Being with their friends and teachers is helpful. Schools should inform families about available resources, such as talking points or counseling, and plans for information sharing and discussions with students. Parents should let their child's teacher or school mental health professional know if they have concerns or feel their child may need extra support.

15. Monitor your own stress level. Don't ignore your own feelings of anxiety, grief, and anger. Talking to friends, family members, religious leaders, and mental health counselors can help. It is okay to let your children know you are sad, but that you believe things will get better. You will be better able to support your children if you can express your own emotions in a productive manner. Get appropriate sleep, nutrition, and exercise.

© 2015, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 657-0270, Fax (301) 657-0275, www.nasponline.org

Printable Version

Companion Infographic

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Intentional acts of violence that hurt innocent people are frightening and upsetting. Children and youth will look to adults for information and guidance on how to react. Families and school personnel can help children cope first and foremost by establishing a sense of safety and security.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal on almost everyone. But some experts say it's children who've suffered most. An essential phase in their lives is interrupted when they learn how to interact socially. In parts of the world, kids have spent months doing lessons in front of a computer. In developing countries, many children have missed months of school altogether.

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How the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting children’s development | COVID-19 Special

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Training Materials on Community Violence trauma in youth

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Training Materials on Community Violence trauma in youth

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These materials describe what community violence is, what the symptoms are in youth, how to prevent it, and how to assist someone experiencing it.

The suggestions they give for authorities is to create a safe environment for the youth. Living in a violent community can be lonely and also chaotic. So having a space where they can say their opinions and thoughts freely with no harm can help.

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This article is more school centered. If there are cases at the school or students experiencing it at home, then the school staff should follow the suggested policies. The policies mostly suggest ways of communicating to the students that schools are not a place for violence. The students will be aware of the school's goals and guidelines to stop violence. This hopefully will prevent violence happening in the school and also give the victims a chance to be honest if they experienced it.

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National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

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Violence such as high profile school shootings can cause concern within school communities, even if they are not directly affected by the event(s). Adults and students struggle to understand why these events happen and, more importantly, how they can be prevented. School principals and superintendents can provide leadership by reassuring students, staff, and parents that schools are generally very safe places for children and youth, and reiterating what safety measures and student supports are already in place in their school.

Suggested Steps to Reinforce School Safety

There are a number of steps that administrators can take to reinforce the fact that schools are safe environments and increase student/adult comfort level following an event.

Write a letter to parents explaining the school safety policies and crisis prevention efforts and cite statistics that less than one percent of violent deaths are "school associated."

Be a visible, welcoming presence at school, greeting students and parents and visiting classrooms.

Issue a press release about the school district efforts to maintain safe and caring schools through clear behavioral expectations, positive behavior interventions and supports, and crisis planning and preparedness.

Conduct a formal review of all school safety policies and procedures to ensure that emerging school safety issues are adequately covered in current school crisis plans and emergency response procedures. (Such reviews should be conducted at least annually.)

Review communication systems within the school district and with community responders. This should also address how and where parents will be informed in the event of an emergency.

Connect with community partners (emergency responders, area hospitals, victim's assistance, etc.) to review emergency response plans and to discuss any short-term needs that may be obvious in response to the current crisis.

Provide crisis training and professional development for staff based upon needs assessment.

Highlight violence prevention programs and curriculum currently being taught in school. Emphasize the efforts of the school to teach students alternatives to violence including peaceful conflict resolution and positive interpersonal relationship skills. Cite specific examples such as Second Step Violence Prevention, bully proofing, or other positive interventions and behavioral supports.

School Violence Prevention Measures to Highlight

Administrators can reinforce the importance of creating a caring school community in which adults and students respect and trust each other and all students feel connected, understand expectations, and receive the behavioral and mental health support they need. Messages to the community following a violent event can reassure parents and students about the safety of their schools. Here are some possible school violence prevention strategies that reinforce school safety:

Physical Safety.

There is limited access to school building, including a designated entrance with all other access points locked from the exterior.

Campus monitors patrol the school parking lot noting people entering and leaving the campus.

Staff members monitor and supervise areas such as hallways, cafeterias, and playgrounds.

School resource officers or security guards patrol the campus.

Guests must report to main office, sign in, and wear badges; and staff members are instructed to report unfamiliar people to school office.

These strategies are augmented by security systems (metal detectors, video monitoring, exit door alarm systems).

School-community partnerships.

A variety of school-community partnerships enhance the safety measures for our students beyond school property (Block Parents, police surveillance, Community Watch programs).

Crisis plans and preparedness training.

Building level teams regularly review crisis and emergency plans.

All staff members participate in annual training and simulation drills, including intruder alerts, weather and fire emergencies.

Teachers and other staff know how to respond to students' questions and support them following a crisis. In addition, threat assessment and risk-assessment procedures are in place for teams.

Proactive school systems.

Our school provides school-wide behavioral expectations, caring school climate programs, positive interventions and supports, psychological and counseling services, and violence prevention programs such as bully-proofing, social skill development, and conflict mediation.

We promote compliance with school rules, and encourage students to report potential problems to school officials and resist peer pressure to act irresponsibly.

Participation by students.

We encourage students to take responsibility for their part in maintaining safe school environments, including student participation in safety planning. They, better than adults, know the hidden or less trafficked areas of the school that are more likely to be dangerous.

We have in place anonymous reporting systems (student hot lines, "suggestion" boxes, "tell an adult" campaigns).

What to Say to Students

Talk with students and validate their feelings. Let their questions guide what and how much information to provide, be open to opportunities to talk when they are ready, be honest about your own feelings related to violence, and emphasize the positive things that child/family/school can do to stay safe. Be patient. Children and youth do not always talk about their feelings readily. Watch for clues that they may want to talk, such as hovering around while you do the dishes or yard work. Some children prefer writing, playing music, or doing an art project as an outlet. Young children may need concrete activities (such as drawing, looking at picture books, or imaginative play) to help them identify and express their feelings.

Be aware of signs that a student might be in distress, e.g., changes in behavior, anxiety, sleep problems, acting out, problems at school or with academic work. Also be conscious of media exposure and what you say about the event. Limit television viewing (be aware if the television is on in common areas).

Following are some suggested general key points when talking to students:

Schools are safe places. Our school staff works with local police and fire departments, emergency responders, and hospitals to keep you safe.

Our school is safe because....

We all play a role in the school safety. Be observant and let an adult know if you see or hear something that makes you feel uncomfortable, nervous or frightened.

There is a difference between reporting, tattling or gossiping. You can provide important information that may prevent harm either directly or anonymously by telling a trusted adult what you know or hear.

Although there is no absolute guarantee that something bad will never happen, it is important to understand the difference between the possibility of something happening and probability that it will affect you or our school.

Senseless violence is hard for everyone to understand. Doing things that you enjoy, sticking to your normal routine, and being with friends and family help make us feel better and keep us from worrying about the event.

Sometimes people do bad things that hurt others. They may be unable to handle their anger, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or suffering from mental illness. Adults (parents, teachers, police officers, doctors, faith leaders) work very hard to get those people help and keep them from hurting others. It is important for all of us to know how to get help if we feel really upset or angry and to stay away from drugs and alcohol.

Stay away from guns and other weapons. Tell an adult if you know someone has a gun. Access to guns is one of the leading risk factors for deadly violence.

Violence is never a solution to personal problems. Students can be part of the positive solution by participating in anti-violence programs at school, learning conflict mediation skills, and seeking help from an adult if they or a peer is struggling with anger, depression, or other emotions they cannot control.

Recommended Citation:
NASP School Safety and Crisis Response Committee. (2015). Responding to School Violence Prevention: Guidelines for School Administrators and Crisis Teams. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Contributor: Cathy Kennedy Paine, NCSP

© 2015, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 657-0270, Fax (301) 657-0275; www.nasponline.org

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Responding to School Violence: Tips for Administrators

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Violence such as high profile school shootings can cause concern within school communities, even if they are not directly affected by the event(s). Adults and students struggle to understand why these events happen and, more importantly, how they can be prevented.

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Symptoms:

Immediate Reactions and Long-term Effects

Children’s immediate reactions to IPV may include:

Generalized anxiety

Sleeplessness

Nightmares

Difficulty concentrating

High activity levels

Increased aggression

Increased anxiety about being separated from a parent

Intense worry about their safety or the safety of a parent

Long-term effects, especially from chronic exposure to IPV, may include:

Physical health problems

Behavior problems in adolescence (e.g., delinquency, alcohol or substance abuse)

Emotional difficulties in adulthood (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD)

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), also referred to as domestic violence, occurs when an individual purposely causes harm or threatens the risk of harm to any past or current partner or spouse.

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Domestic Violence: Impact on Children (Course 2007273N)

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How can I support my teen if they are experiencing IPV?

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How can I support my teen if they are experiencing IPV?

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How can I support my teen if they are experiencing IPV?

Here is how you can help your teen if they are experiencing IPV:

Learn the signs of IPV. See the signs of IPV above. Educate yourself about teen IPV through the online resources listed at the end of this page.

Listen to your teen and believe what they are saying. It is hard for most teens to talk about their dating experiences that involve partner violence. This is because they might think no one will believe them. They might also feel scared, confused or ashamed.

Do not blame or judge your child. It is important for your child to feel supported. It is also important to keep an open line of communication between you and your child.

Remind your teen that they deserve to be in a healthy relationship. Healthy relationships do not hurt. Healthy relationships feel supportive and respect individual boundaries. Learn more about healthy relationships from MGHfC or from Love Is Respect®

If your teen is experiencing IPV, decide on the next steps. Leaving an unhealthy relationship can be difficult. It is also often the most dangerous time for adult women experiencing IPV. Your teen may also feel fearful. Talk with your teen’s guidance counselor, principal or teachers at school. If needed, talk with the police.

Help your teen get support from their doctor or therapist. If you are not sure how to find a therapist, talk to your child’s pediatrician.

Get support for yourself. As a parent, learning that your child is experiencing IPV can be emotionally challenging. Getting support for yourself from someone you trust can help you better support your child.

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Click on the hamburger icon (three lines in the top right corner of the video) to watch other videos in the playlist.
Intimate partner violence (IPV), sometimes called domestic violence, can affect people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds, including teens. Learn how to help your teen if they are a victim of IPV or if they are hurting their dating partner.

What is intimate partner violence?

Intimate partner violence (IPV), sometimes called domestic violence, refers to a pattern of behaviors by one partner with the goal of exerting power or control over the other partner. IPV includes dating violence. The purpose of those behaviors is to make the other partner feel fearful.

Violence is never a solution to problems, frustrations or relationship issues.

What are the different types of IPV?

There are many types of IPV, including:

These behaviors can happen in person or digitally through social networking, websites or text messaging. Learn more about IPV through texting and through social networking.

What is the cycle of IPV?

IPV has a cycle with three phases:

1. Tension phase. This is when stress or emotions build up over a certain period of time. The abuser might pick fights, nitpick or show aggression.

2. Acute or crisis phase. This is when episodes of IPV happen. The abuser will hurt and blame the victim. The victim will try to take actions to survive the abuse.

3. Honeymoon phase. This is when the abuser becomes calmer and might try to apologize, ask for forgiveness or promise the abuse will not happen again.

How common is IPV?

IPV can affect people of all races and from all backgrounds. There are some characteristics that are associated with a higher risk:

Younger age. Partner violence often begins in adolescence and young adulthood.

Women, especially throughout their childbearing years (years when they can have children), are particularly at risk. This also raises the risk of affecting their children.

What are the consequences of IPV?

There are many consequences of IPV. IPV affects everyone differently. The most common effects include:

Physical injury

Unintended or unwanted pregnancy

Sexually transmitted infections or diseases (STIs or STDs)

Mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress

Long-term effects of chronic/repeated trauma has been shown to impact the cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) system, immune system (system that fights off germs and illness) and other health problems

Invisible wounds (the effects you cannot physically see, but still affect the person, such as low self-esteem or unhealthy beliefs about relationships or themselves). These problems can also place a person at a higher risk for revictimization (becoming a victim of IPV again), even in a new relationship

What are the risk factors for IPV?

There are many factors that can raise your teen's risk of becoming involved with IPV. These risk factors can include:

Unhealthy beliefs about relationships

Mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression

Aggressive behavior

Drugs or alcohol use/ abuse

Early sexual activity or having multiple partners

Witnessing violence at home

Having many fights or conflicts in a relationship (outside of usual disagreements)

What are the signs that my teen might be experiencing IPV?

It is important to know the signs of IPV so you can support your teen and get them the help they need. The signs of IPV can include:

An on-again, off-again relationship pattern

Unexplained physical injuries

Stress and mental health problems, such as anxiety

Spending excessive time texting or online

Your child's friends are in abusive relationships

Low self-esteem

Unhealthy beliefs about relationships

Substance use problems (drinking or using other drugs)

Aggressive behaviors

Isolation (separation) from friends and family, especially when it is an unexpected or acute change

Poor grades or performance in school, especially when it is an unexpected or sudden change

Early sexual activity or having multiple sexual partners

How can I support my teen if they are experiencing IPV?

Here is how you can help your teen if they are experiencing IPV:

Learn the signs of IPV. See the signs of IPV above. Educate yourself about teen IPV through the online resources listed at the end of this page.

Listen to your teen and believe what they are saying. It is hard for most teens to talk about their dating experiences that involve partner violence. This is because they might think no one will believe them. They might also feel scared, confused or ashamed.

Do not blame or judge your child. It is important for your child to feel supported. It is also important to keep an open line of communication between you and your child.

Remind your teen that they deserve to be in a healthy relationship. Healthy relationships do not hurt. Healthy relationships feel supportive and respect individual boundaries. Learn more about healthy relationships from MGHfC or from Love Is Respect®

If your teen is experiencing IPV, decide on the next steps. Leaving an unhealthy relationship can be difficult. It is also often the most dangerous time for adult women experiencing IPV. Your teen may also feel fearful. Talk with your teen's guidance counselor, principal or teachers at school. If needed, talk with the police.

Help your teen get support from their doctor or therapist. If you are not sure how to find a therapist, talk to your child's pediatrician.

Get support for yourself. As a parent, learning that your child is experiencing IPV can be emotionally challenging. Getting support for yourself from someone you trust can help you better support your child.

What are other ways I can help my teen?

Here are other ways you can help your teen:

Set an example for healthy relationships at home. Children typically learn how to develop relationships and emotional skills through their experiences with their parents and primary caregivers. When there is a disagreement or stress, model how to handle stress and challenging emotions, such as anger or sadness. Learn more about healthy ways to solve problems and build trust from Love Is Respect®.

Keep open lines of communication. Tell your teen that they can come to you about anything and that you will be there to listen to and support them.

Address mental health concerns. If your teen has mental health problems, help them get the support and treatment they need. Reach out to your teen's doctor or visit Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at MGHfC for resources, referrals and next steps.

Know your teen's friends. Peer and friend relationships are a very strong influence on children. Healthy friendships with people who are supportive, caring and understanding can affect how your teen thinks about relationships and dating. Knowing your teen's close or good friends can help you understand your child better. Learn more about forming healthy relationships from MGHfC or from Love is Respect® Learn more about healthy teen dating relationships (PDF) from Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at MGHfC.

Why won't my teen leave the abusive relationship?

There are many reasons why your teen might choose not to leave an abusive relationship right away or at all. Some reasons include:

Having a range of conflicting feelings and thoughts. For instance, feeling fearful, confused, embarrassed or ashamed while also wanting the relationship or caring for the person.

If your teen identifies as gay, lesbian, transgender or gender non-binary and are not open about it, they might feel scared about the abusive partner sharing their identity.

Beliefs that abuse is normal or that the abuse is somehow their fault.

Hope that the abusive partner will change

Pressure from peers, cultural or religious reasons.

If your teen is pregnant or has children with the abusive partner, they might feel pressured to raise the children together.

Distrust of adults, police and other authorities

Reliance on the abusive partner. Your teen might depend on the abusive partner for money, security or feel like they have nowhere to go if they leave.

What are the warning signs that my teen might be abusing or hurting their partner?

If your teen shows any of the warning signs below, they might be abusing or hurting their partner. The signs can include:

Feeling very jealous or insecure

Always needs to be the one "in charge" in relationships

Trouble maintaining relationships or frequent break ups

Minimizing or rationalizing violence or coercive behaviors (hurtful behaviors to force someone into doing something they do not want to do)

Not respecting others' privacy or choices

Trouble compromising and adjusting to their partner's needs

Blaming others and trouble accepting responsibility for their behaviors

Where can I learn more about IPV?

You can learn more about IPV from the following resources:
Rev. 5/2018. MassGeneral Hospital for Children and Massachusetts General Hospital do not endorse any of the brands or organizations listed on this handout. This handout is intended to provide health information so that you can be better informed. It is not a substitute for medical advice and should not be used to treatment of any medical conditions.

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Intimate partner violence: How to help your teen

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Click on the hamburger icon (three lines in the top right corner of the video) to watch other videos in the playlist. Intimate partner violence (IPV), sometimes called domestic violence, can affect people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds, including teens.

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How to help prevent and respond to school violence 

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How to help prevent and respond to school violence 

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This article is more of a step by step guideline on what to do if community violence is currently happening at the school. The article mostly suggests to try to focus more on education and give awareness that violence is not allowed in the school. They also say that the legal authorities should be involved if there is a case happening in the school.

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1. Child Development-Community Policing Program
2. Child-Parent Psychotherapy
3. Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress
4. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Praise students.
Children thrive from hearing about
what they do well and what teachers love about
them. Remember to praise the small things students
do, such as being helpful or kind. Tell them that I
notice, and that I am proud of them. Praise from
someone as important as you can make a big difference
in how children feel about themselves.

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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CPP is an intervention model for children aged 0-6 who have experienced at least one traumatic event and/or are experiencing mental health, attachment, and/or behavioral problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder.

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CPP is an intervention model for children aged 0-6 who have experienced at least one traumatic event and/or are experiencing mental health, attachment, and/or behavioral problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder.

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TED talk about stopping community violence

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TED talk about stopping community violence

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A very powerful speech from a man that experienced community violence when he was a teen. His suggestions are based around involving the entire community to prevent violence. He talked in depth about a support system. His mother was a great role model that took care of him and his siblings, so he gained the ability to develop better than some people. It takes a large enough group of people to say that violence is not normal and it should not be allowed.

The three things he suggested were:

1. Create a resilient community and support system

2. Give positivity towards peers

3. Give a healthy relationship that supports victims

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Break the Cycle of Community Violence | Casey Boston | TEDxBinghamtonUniversity

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STEPS TO PLAN FOR SAFETY: WHAT CHILDREN AND TEENS SHOULD KNOW

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STEPS TO PLAN FOR SAFETY: WHAT CHILDREN AND TEENS SHOULD KNOW

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• How to call 911 in an emergency
• Names and phone numbers of trusted relatives, neighbors, or friends they can call or go to for help, day or night
• Hiding places and exits in the home
• To stay out of the middle of their parents’ fights or arguments
• An agreed upon safety word, phrase, or gesture that can be used in times of danger to signal the use of your safety steps

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Education Week. (2016, March 1). A Teacher Talks About Terrorism and Religion With Students. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzG0YNaCteQ

Fremont, W. P. (2004). Childhood Reactions to Terrorism-Induced Trauma: A Review of the Past 10 Years. Journal of the American Academy of Child &Amp; Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(4), 381–392. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200404000-00004

Helping Children Cope With Terrorism. (n.d.). National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/mental-health-resources/war-and-terrorism/helping-children-cope-with-terrorism

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Key Facts about Sexual Abuse
1. It is pervasive - 1 in 5 children is sexually abused by the time they turn 18
2. Sexual abuse often happens from another child
3. Children with disabilities are three times as likely to be victims of sexual abuse
4. A child is far less likely to be abused by a stranger than by someone they know

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Understand the Issue of Child Sexual Abuse | Saprea

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Parents may find it difficult to even consider the possibility that their child could be affected by sexual abuse, but it's important to remember: sexual abuse is an issue that cannot be ignored. The trauma of child sexual abuse can have devastating effects when it occurs, as well as long-term impacts that linger well into adulthood.

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Some Common Myths about Sexual Abuse
1. Abuse always involves physical contact
2. Abuse only happens to girls
3. Strangers are the common perpetrators of sexual abuse
4. Sexual abuse only happens in stereotypical places like alleys and vans
5. Sexual abuse is always reported to authorities
6. Survivors of sexual abuse always become abusers themselves
7. There is nothing one can do to prevent sexual abuse

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8 Myths About Child Sexual Abuse | Defend Innocence

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When myths about child sexual abuse are accepted as truth, survivors may be more likely to stay silent. In order to break the silence and lower the risk of sexual abuse, you need to know the truth about sexual abuse. Below are eight myths that we should all work to dispel: Sexual abuse includes non-physical contact as well.

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Know the Facts

There are a lot of myths about child sexual abuse, so it's important that you know the facts. The majority of children and teens are most likely to be sexually abused by someone they know and trust. Too often the abuse happens within their own family. This means that school may be one of the only safe places for them, whether you realize it or not. Sexual abuse affects kids of all races, religions, socioeconomic levels, and ages. If you don't think it's happening to children who attend your school, you're wrong. It's also important for you to know the signs, including looking for the possibility that a child is engaging in harmful sexual behavior and may be at risk for becoming a perpetrator of sexual abuse.

Simply arming yourself with accurate information can make a big difference in your classroom and school. When you encounter misinformation, you can step in and correct the inaccuracy. This will also help you reduce the stigma surrounding this topic and make it an appropriate topic to address with your colleagues.

Depending on the age and maturity of a child, you can be sensitive to patterns of healthy sexual development and what's typical for students within the age you teach. This may help you recognize sexual abuse, since exhibiting unhealthy or harmful sexual behaviors is a sign the child may have been sexually abused. You can also reduce the risk of a child acting on harmful sexual behaviors if you can recognize the signs. We have blog posts with information about typical sexual behavior for children ages 0-2, 3-6, 6-9, and 10-12. Keep in mind that not all children will develop at the same pace and things like maturity, mental or physical disabilities, and the environment where they're being raised may impact their development as well.

When you are armed with the knowledge of what's age-appropriate for your students, it will make it all the easier to spot when someone is not at the same level. This in and of itself is not a sign of sexual abuse, but when it's combined with other factors it may lead you to ask questions, report, or advocate for a child who is in need of your help.

Encourage Emotional Regulation

There are certain risk factors that raise the possibility of a child being sexually abused. Several of these factors may be combatted if a child learns emotional regulation. Emotional regulation is the ability to respond to the emotions felt in any given situation in a healthy and socially acceptable way. As adults we practice this skill often, but it's something that children need to practice in order to develop. Responses such as tantrums, shouting, or meltdowns are signals that a child is having difficulty regulating their emotions. Depending on the age of your students you can implement policies in your class to help them have the time and space to work through overwhelming feelings.

Some ideas are giving them "alone time" to think about what they're feeling and how they can deal with those emotions in an appropriate way for the classroom (make sure this doesn't feel like a punishment or it could exacerbate the problem). You could utilize our Wheel of Emotions and help them identify their feelings so they can talk about them, or you can ask them to write down what they're feeling as an essay or a story, depending on their age.

Giving kids a safe way to experience and resolve their emotional responses is not only an important life skill, but research has also shown that it will help prevent them from being sexually abused or sexually abusing someone else.

Most schools have policies in place for things like sexual harassment between students as well as policies dictating interactions between teachers and students. Encourage open discussion and understanding of these policies so that everyone (both students and staff) knows and understands both their rights and ways to respect the rights of others. If your school doesn't have these types of policies in place, see what you can do about getting them implemented.

Many places require teachers to go through training or receive additional education about sexual abuse. These can often be emotionally overwhelming and leave you feeling hopeless about being able to ever make a difference. One way you can supplement this training with more hopeful and actionable information is by utilizing our classes designed for community members.

Whether or not your school has a comprehensive sexual education program, at Saprea we believe that parents are the most important source of information for their children. Many parents may not be discussing healthy sexual development with their children simply because they don't realize what an impact it can have. You can encourage them to have little talks about sexual development with their kids.

Letting them know the importance of teaching their child assertive communication could be a good place to start. Or the importance of modeling healthy relationships. You could even start with talking to them about raising their child's self-esteem. Whenever possible, encourage them to talk to their children openly and honestly about healthy sexual development, which may make all the difference in reducing the risk that the child will be sexually abused or will sexually abuse others.

Like the adage you hear when you're waiting for a flight in the airport, "If you see something, say something." If you see a coworker or student exhibiting behaviors that cause you to worry, speak up about it. This may be letting a fellow teacher know that their relationship with a student seems to be veering into dangerous territory or pulling a student aside to ask them if everything is okay. Your school may have policies in place of who you should report to and how; make sure you know what the protocol is when you see something.

If you know that sexual abuse is occurring, don't hesitate to report it. There are many survivors of child sexual abuse who have a teacher to thank for stopping the abuse they were experiencing. If your intuition tells you that something is "off" with a situation or someone, the chances are it is and you should investigate further.

Be a Trusted Adult

There may be kids in your classroom who don't feel safe at home. No matter what their family looks like, no matter how much (or how little) money their parents make or how nice their neighborhood is, a child may be experiencing sexual abuse. You can create an atmosphere of safety in your classroom and be someone they trust. Let them know that if there are problems in their lives, they can talk to you about them. Stress to them that secrets won't keep them safe.

Whether a student is being sexually abused or not, having an adult they feel safe with is important. Allowing them a space where they can be themselves and where they are encouraged to work through their emotions in a healthy way can make all the difference in their lives.

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7 Ways Teachers Can Prevent Sexual Abuse | Defend Innocence

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Teachers can have a huge impact on their students and play an important role in helping to prevent child sexual abuse. See how in this post!

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A brief video describing what to do if a child tells you about Sexual Abuse

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A brief video describing what to do if a child tells you about Sexual Abuse

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1. Respond with Care and Urgency
2. Believe the Child
3. Be supportive
4. Stay calm
5. Be caring
6. Face the Problem
7. Re-establish safety
8. Get help
9. Do not despair

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What protective adults need to know

Many children who are sexually abused don't tell anyone about it and many keep their secret all their lives. People who sexually abuse children are more likely to be people we know, and could well be people we care about; more than 8 out of 10 children who are sexually abused know the person who abused them. They are family members or friends, neighbours or babysitters - many hold responsible positions in society. The closer the relationship between the child and the person carrying out the abuse, the less likely the child is to talk about it.

Children often show us rather than tell us that something is worrying or upsetting them so being aware of the warning signs is vital. However, children may give vague hints that something is happening. Their information may not be clear and they may not have the words to explain what is happening to them. The way adults respond to this is vital to ensuring the child's safety.

Watch this short video to learn how best to respond.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT ABUSE

Respond with care and urgency

If you think a child is trying to tell you about a sexually abusive situation, respond promptly and with care. The police and children's social care have joint working arrangements for responding to suspected child sexual abuse. They are experienced in this work and will deal sensitively with the child and family.

Believe the child

If a child trusts you enough to tell you about abuse, you must remember that they rarely lie about such things. Although it may be hard to believe that someone we trust or care about is capable of sexually abusing a child, it's highly unlikely that a child would deliberately make false accusations about adult-like sexual behaviours.

The pressures on the child to keep silent are enormous. It takes tremendous courage to talk about abuse. A child's claim that sexual abuse did not happen (when it actually did), or taking back a disclosure of abuse are common. Sometimes the child's account of what happened changes or evolves over time. This is a common pattern for disclosure and should not invalidate their story.

Be supportive

It is important that they feel supported - don't dismiss their claims or put them off talking about it.

Stay calm

If they are talking to you about it, don't get angry or upset. Stay calm and steady. If you get angry the child may think you are going to punish them - this will play into the hands of the person who sexually abused the child, who might have warned the child not to tell. If the child fears you will become upset or distressed they are less likely to disclose in order to protect you emotionally.

Be caring

Make sure the child knows you love them and that they have done nothing wrong - and keep telling them. The child will need to see that adults believe them and they are doing all they can to protect them. Make sure the child knows they were right to talk about it and that you are glad they came to you.

Face the problem

When the abuse is known, adults must face the problem honestly, protect the child at all costs and place responsibility appropriately with the person who committed the abuse.

Re-establish safety

Do what is necessary to protect the child from further harm. Put into place a family safety plan.

Get help

Get help from professionals who can help guide you towards safety and healing. Information on sources of help can be found on our get help / further support and useful links pages.

Do not despair

Children can and do recover from child sexual abuse. It is incredibly difficult to hear that someone you love has been hurt in such a way but help to recover is available.

Every year thousands of people discover that someone in their family or circle of friends has abused a child. These children and their families need help to recover from their experiences.

Our actions can prevent abuse, protect children, and help those abused to recover.

It can also lead to the person who sexually abused a child being held accountable and taking responsibility for their abuse. By getting effective treatment, they might eventually become a safer member of our community.

And if the person who sexually abused a child is someone close to us, we need to get support for ourselves too.

If you know about abuse and don't tell anyone, the person who offended may well continue to abuse, the child will continue to suffer, and more children may become victims. But you can change that.

If you see warning signs and don't know what to do, seek advice and help. The confidential Stop It Now! helpline supports thousands of people each year to keep children safe.

What the child may be feeling

When sexual abuse is exposed the person who offended may experience any of the following:

Helping yourself

Learning that a child has been abused can be traumatic. It's important to get help for yourself to help you cope with the emotions, challenges and decisions you face.

This may be the time to turn to a friend, someone you trust, counsellor or therapist for emotional support. The more able you are to cope, the more you can help your child and family. You can find other organisations that might be able to help on our useful links page.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

If you want to know more how to prevent child sexual abuse, you can watch the rest of our short films .

If you're worried about how an adult or young person you know behaves around children, you can get confidential support from the Stop It Now! helpline: 0808 1000 900.If you're not ready to speak to someone yet, you can use our live chat or send a secure message.

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What protective adults need to know Many children who are sexually abused don't tell anyone about it and many keep their secret all their lives. People who sexually abuse children are more likely to be people we know, and could well be people we care about; more than 8 out of 10 children who are sexually abused know the person who abused them.

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Early childhood trauma refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6.
Potentially traumatic events include:

Psychological, physical, or sexual abuse

Community or school violence

Witnessing or experiencing domestic violence

National disasters or terrorism

Commercial sexual exploitation

Sudden or violent loss of a loved one

Refugee or war experiences

Military family-related stressors (e.g., deployment, parental loss or injury)

Physical or sexual assault

Neglect

Serious accidents or life-threatening illness.

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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Early childhood trauma generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6.

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Eating disturbance

Sleep disturbances

Somatic complaints

Clingy/separation anxiety

Feeling helpless/passive

Irritable/difficult to soothe

Constricted play, exploration, mood

Avoidant, anxious, clingy

General fearfulness/new fears

Helplessness, passive, low frustration

Restless, impulsive, hyperactive

Physical symptoms (headache, etc.)

Difficulty identifying what is bothering them

Inattention, difficulty problem solving

Daydreaming or dissociation

Irritability

Aggressive behavior

Sexualized behavior

Loss of recent developmental achievements

Repetitive/ post-traumatic play

Talking about the traumatic event and reacting to reminders/trauma triggers

Sadness/depression

Poor peer relationships and social problems (controlling/over permissive)

Repetitive/post-traumatic play

Developmental regression

General fearfulness/new fears

Easily startled

Language delay

Aggressive behavior

Sexualized behavior

Talking about the traumatic event and reacting to reminders/trauma triggers

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Which Type of Childhood Traumas Did You Experience?

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Strategies to support students who have early childhood trauma.

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Strategies to support students who have early childhood trauma.

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1. Communicate with counsellors or social workers.
2. Provide structure and consistency.
3. Ease transitions.
4. Provide choice.
5. Develop strengths and interests.
6.Be aware of potential trauma triggers

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Trauma-informed care is one of the most discussed topics in early childhood education, and for good reason: You're sure to have children in your classroom or program right now who have experienced trauma.

As defined by author Jen Alexander in the new book Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools, trauma is "a distressing experience or set of experiences that threatens a person's actual safety or perceived sense of felt safety to such a degree that it exceeds an individual's capacity to cope in healthy ways." According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Schools Committee, at least one in four students have suffered trauma severe enough to affect their performance in school. When a young child experiences trauma-whether due to neglect, abuse, witnessing violence, or other factors-they may:

Become anxious and hyper-vigilant, exhibiting severe reactions to mild stressors

Have sensory, motor, executive function, communication, and language difficulties

Struggle with healthy emotional regulation, social skills, boundaries, and empathy-building

Because the overwhelming stress caused by trauma inflicts the most damage on the developing brains and bodies of the youngest children, trauma sensitivity is an especially critical area of focus for early childhood professionals. Read on to learn about the signs of trauma in young children-and nine things you can do to help.

What are the potential signs a child has experienced trauma?

Trauma-sensitive educators learn to decode signals sent by children who have experienced (or may still be experiencing) trauma or chronic stress. Adapted from the Trauma-Informed Care and the Pyramid Model emodule developed by the Pyramid Model Consortium, these potential signs and symptoms of trauma are something to be conscious of in the children under your care:

What can you do to help?

The effects of trauma can harm the academic and social-emotional development of young children, but the good news is, you can help. These nine practical steps, adapted from Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools, will help you establish a trauma-responsive classroom where children feel safer, more connected to their peers, better equipped to deal with their emotions, and ready to learn.

Be aware of potential trauma triggers
A typical early childhood learning environment is composed of a symphony of sensory stimuli that is benign for most children, but may trigger fight, flight, or freeze responses in a child who has experienced trauma. Be aware of children who exhibit these responses to stimuli such as loud or sudden sounds, bright colors, a crying classmate, or certain activities-and be sensitive to more subtle trauma triggers, too (for instance, dimming the lights during rest time might remind a child of past sexual abuse). To comfort a child after a triggering event, here are a few examples (from the Trauma-Informed Care and the Pyramid Model emodule) of things you might say:

"I'm here to help you. I'm not angry with you and you're not in trouble."

"That really scared you, didn't it?"

"I can see how hard this is for you."

"I see that you're really upset. I'll stay here with you to keep you safe."

"I want to understand better. If I know how you feel, I'll be able to help you better. Use your voice and words to tell me."

Clearly communicate safety expectations
Building a trauma-sensitive learning environment starts with establishing rules, expectations, and predictable routines that help children feel safe to explore and connect with their peers. For preschool and kindergarten students, communicate safety expectations using highly specific, positive language that stresses what you want them to do instead of what you don't want them to do. Try replacing "No running in the halls" with "Walk, please." Instead of saying, "Don't talk to him that way," to a student putting down a fellow classmate, try saying, "Tell us how you feel so everyone can feel safe." Rule posters, step-by-step procedural charts, and videos of older kids modeling positive behavior are all effective ways to reinforce behavioral and safety expectations.

Establish healthy boundaries
To develop healthy peer relationships, young children require an understanding of healthy boundaries. As long as they don't feel shamed, children will eventually understand that the limits you set are reasonable and in place to help everyone feel safe. Here are a few things a trauma-sensitive educator might say to frame respectful boundaries and limitations in a positive way:

"In our school, we don't ____ because that bothers others."

"I bet it would upset you if someone did that to you. I'm not going to let you do that to others. Can I help you find another way?"

"I know it's hard to accept me saying no about that. I'm here to help you through it."

"This time didn't work out so well. Think about how you could try again later."

Coach children on relationship skills
With a little bit of planning, you can weave instruction that reinforces healthy interpersonal skills into daily activities like storytime. Swimmy, Stick and Stone, and Chopsticks are three examples of engaging picture books that help support the development of self-awareness, empathy, and relationship-building skills. Whenever possible, encourage young children to imagine themselves in the shoes of different characters so they develop an appreciation for other perspectives.

Embed mindfulness practices
Embedding mindfulness and self-regulation strategies into daily routines is a good way to help young children gain agency over their stress response systems. Daily meditation or yoga (look for books like You Are a Lion! that teach simple animal poses for children) can help calm children and get them ready to learn. (Bear in mind that some students who have experienced trauma may need permission to keep their eyes open during mindfulness activities.) You can also show your class this Sesame Street video, a cute introduction to the mindfulness practice of belly breathing. Another calming activity is to urge children to make horse sounds with their lips as they breathe out, which often leads to fits of giggles. Laughter is contagious, and a natural antidote to stress and anxiety!

Teach them to identify and express emotions
Most young children don't possess the natural ability to identify and appropriately express their emotions; these are learned skills that form a key link in the chain of successful self-regulation. Teach young children the differences between passive, aggressive, and assertive communication, and explain why being assertive is the most reliable way to get their needs met without alienating others. Suggest assertive statements for them to use like "I feel ____; I need ___." It's also important to work with children on how to listen and respond respectfully when their peers are communicating their emotions and needs.

Foster belonging
Trauma-sensitive learning environments highlight the importance of belonging while encouraging children to respect and value the differences between themselves and others. You might explain that while each one of them is a special and unique individual, people accomplish more when they come together and combine their diverse strengths, talents, and perspectives. In the picture book Everybody Needs a Rock, kids are tasked with finding their very own perfect rock, which involves looking in a variety of different locations. Read your young students the book, and then encourage children to bring in their own special rocks to share with the class.
Are you looking for more inclusive, diversity-focused resources and materials? Check out this list of 14 places you can find resources and materials to help you reflect diversity within your classroom!
Provide executive function instruction and support
Executive function skills are among the best indicators of future success, but traumatized children may struggle with them-particularly in areas such as impulse control, decision-making, and sustained attention. Try incorporating popular games for young children that incorporate skills related to executive function and self-regulation. Freeze Tag, Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, memory games, handclapping games and songs, and storytelling activities where each child adds a detail to a story, are just some of the activities that strengthen the interlocking network of mental processes associated with executive function.

Collaborate to meet each family's needs
A child's feeling of safety begins at home. Think of your classroom or program as not just a place where young children begin to learn the skills they'll need to achieve future success, but as a community hub where families can get assistance to meet their needs and establish a safe and nurturing home. Be proactive in providing on-site health services or referrals to health and social services resources. Partner with local agencies to offer after-school and summer programs. Consider organizing food, clothing, and toy drives, and coordinate with local food banks so students can take home meals when they need them.

Trauma and chronic stress can have a major impact on a young child's life, both in and outside the classroom. But with your help, students can feel safe, supported, and ready to succeed both socially and academically.

If you found the strategies outlined in this article helpful, check out Jen Alexander's Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools for comprehensive guidance on supporting students who experience trauma.

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9 Ways to Support Trauma-Sensitive Classrooms

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Children who have experienced trauma or are under chronic stress can have trouble identifying and appropriately expressing emotions, concentrating on lessons and activities, and forming healthy peer relationships. Use the nine strategies outlined in this brand-new feature article to help all children feel safer, more emotionally regulated, and ready to learn.

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Child sex trafficking is a form of child abuse where a child under 18 is sexually exploited for something of value. Survivors can suffer from immediate and long term effects, including health impacts, psychological, physical and even death.

Some symptoms you may see in a child who has suffered and survived child sex trafficking are:

1. emotional and behavioral dysregulation
2. problems with attachment and relationships
3. problems with attention, learning, and planning
4. distortions in self-concept

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National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

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Overview

Child sex trafficking is a form of child abuse that occurs when a child under 18 is advertised, solicited or exploited through a commercial sex act. A commercial sex act is any sex act where something of value - such as money, food, drugs or a place to stay - is given to or received by any person for sexual activity.

While any child can be targeted by a trafficker, research, data and survivor lived experience and expertise have revealed traffickers and buyers often target youth who lack strong support networks, have experienced violence in the past, are experiencing homelessness, or are marginalized by society. When youth feel like they are not loved, supported in their identity and voice, or like they don't belong they become ever more vulnerable to unsafe situations. Traffickers are masters of manipulation and prey upon vulnerabilities using psychological pressure, false promises actions of perceived love/support and intimidation to control and sexually exploit the child for their benefit. The issue of child sex trafficking is complex. Understanding the various forms of child sex trafficking and indicators can create opportunities for prevention, identification, and response. Most importantly NCMEC embraces and encourages all efforts on this issue to be survivor-informed, child-centered, and trauma-informed.

Below are some examples of child sex trafficking:

Child sex trafficking can have devastating immediate and long-term consequences, including health impacts, psychological and physical trauma and even death.

Prevention, education and intervention are key to keeping children safer. After making a missing child report to law enforcement we encourage law enforcement, parents, and legal guardians to report ALL missing children, especially children who have run away, to NCMEC by calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). Next, if you are concerned about potential child sex trafficking activity or see situations including the indicators listed below please make a report to NCMEC's CyberTipline or call 1-800-THE-LOST.

Risk Factors

Understanding adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as common risk factors helps identify opportunities to proactively intervene in an effort to prevent child sex trafficking. We've organized these factors into three categories. The list below is not exhaustive and many factors may be interconnected.

Societal & Environmental

Racism

Bullying

Lack of resources

Involvement in child welfare or juvenile justice systems

Gang activity

Sexism

Xenophobia

Family

Inter-generational sexual abuse

Lack of acceptance of gender identity or sexual orientation

Housing instability/homelessness

Immigration status

Adverse childhood experiences:

Domestic violence

Household substance abuse

Physical/emotional neglect or abuse

Sexual abuse

Families with untreated mental health issues

Individual

History of trauma

Lack of supportive family or adult figures

Low self-esteem

Developmental or physical disability

Substance misuse

Child Sex Trafficking Indicators

Child Sex Trafficking Vulnerabilities

In 2022, NCMEC received more than
19,000 reports
of possible child sex trafficking.

In 2022, NCMEC received over 400 reports of children who had run away and were likely victims of child sex trafficking, who were also being exploited through a gang.

Trends show us that when children run away frequently or for long periods of time, they tend to be running from an unsafe situation or to an unsafe situation.
1 in 6
of the more than 25,000 cases of children reported missing to NCMEC in 2022 who had run away were likely victims of child sex trafficking.

Of the children reported missing to NCMEC in 2022, who had run from the care of child welfare,
18%
were likely victims of child sex trafficking.

What NCMEC is Doing About it

Providing a Specialized Response

NCMEC provides training, case management, clearinghouse resources, analytical support, family and peer support, and recovery services assistance on reports involving child sex trafficking, including:
Child Sex Trafficking Analytical Team
The Child Sex Trafficking Team resources are available to law enforcement only. For assistance please reach out to 1-800-THE-LOST and ask to speak with a member of this team.

Reviews CyberTipline reports relating to child sex trafficking and makes them available to law enforcement for review and potential investigation;

Conducts link analysis to connect potential victims and/or offenders in multiple states or locations;

Provides specialized child sex trafficking analytical assistance to law enforcement to assist with the location and recovery of survivors;

Leverages open source data and specialized child sex trafficking technology tools to develop information and leads;

Analyzes phone numbers, names, email addresses, and/or publicly accessible online presence of possible traffickers to support law enforcement with the location and recovery of missing children exploited through child sex trafficking.

Offers law enforcement free, specialized operational support.

Child Sex Trafficking Recovery Planning and Services

The Child Sex Trafficking Recovery Services Team (RST) provides specialized technical assistance and resources to child welfare workers who are working with missing children who are also victims of child sex trafficking. RST Resource Specialists provide knowledge and guidance on promising practices in trauma-informed response by making connections to statewide and local specialized child sex trafficking resources. RST Resource Specialists are prepared to assist in the development of intentional, trauma-informed, and victim-centered plans which have been proven to build rapport, increase opportunities for youth engagement, and reduce trauma responses. For more information, click here.
Family Advocacy & Support
NCMEC provides assistance and support to families impacted by child sex trafficking. Family Advocacy Specialists offer crisis intervention to families as well as local referrals to appropriate professionals for longer-term support. Families of exploited children often feel alone in their struggle and overwhelmed by the issues impacting their lives. NCMEC's Team HOPE is a volunteer program that connects families to others who have experienced the crisis of a sexually exploited child. These trained volunteers offer peer support, coping skills, and compassion.

Prioritizing Survivor Leadership & Voice

In 2020, NCMEC launched the Child Sex Trafficking Survivor Expert Working Group to strengthen our existing efforts to prevent, identify, and serve survivors of child sex trafficking. This incredible group worked alongside NCMEC to ensure our programs are informed by the lived experience and expertise of individuals who have survived this type of abuse. Each of the 15 members from across the nation was brought onto the NCMEC team as independent Expert Consultants representing diverse professional, experiential and cultural perspectives, and have refined, reshaped and reformed our current and future child sex trafficking efforts and programs.

This work is just the beginning. The knowledge survivors of child sex trafficking provide is immeasurable, and NCMEC is committed to having a team of compensated lived experience experts to inform existing and future programs. NCMEC's child sex trafficking work will continue to be informed by lived-experience experts from idea to innovation through to the launch.

Meet the NCMEC CST Expert Consultants

Training Professionals on How to Identify & Respond to Child Sex Trafficking

NCMEC provides specialized child sex trafficking training on the identification and response to child sex trafficking that can be provided online or in-person. To learn more about our training options or request a specialized training click here.

Introduction to Child Sex Trafficking

This training offers three modules and builds a comprehensive foundation on the issue of child sex trafficking for all audiences including law enforcement, child welfare, as well as concerned citizens.

To access click here.

Training for Child Welfare Professionals on Child Sex Trafficking

Child Welfare professionals play an important role in the response to child sex trafficking and NCMEC is here to help! This training offers three micro-modules specifically designed to assist child welfare professionals working with children missing from care who are exploited through child sex trafficking.

Courses:

Child Sex Trafficking Legislation: What it Means for You

Reporting Children Missing from Care: How NCMEC Can Support You

NCMEC Resources for Child Welfare Professionals

Click here to access our three new trainings!

Building Awareness about the Issue

NCMEC writes, contributes to, and publishes multiple publications pertaining to child sex trafficking. See them all here.

Child Sex Trafficking Overview

Child Sex Trafficking in America: A Guide for Parents & Guardians

Child Sex Trafficking in America: A Guide for Child Welfare Professionals

Missing Male Victims of Child Sex Trafficking

Missing Children, State Care, and Child Sex Trafficking: Engaging the Judiciary in Building a Collaborative Response

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The Child Sex Trafficking Team at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provides assistance to law enforcement in their efforts to identify and recover child victims of sex trafficking through a partnership with the FBI's Innocence Lost National Initiative.

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Effects:

co-occuring health problems

substance abuse disorders

limited social support

limited social support

lower socioeconomic status

stigma associated with events

emotional effects

anxiety

panic disorder

major depression

eating disorders

PTSD

pervasive mistrust in others

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By:
Heather J. Clawson, Ph.D., Amy Salomon, Ph.D., and Lisa Goldblatt Grace, LICSW, MPH

"

Study Overview

This is the third in a series of Issue Briefs produced under a contract with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) to conduct a study of HHS programs serving human trafficking victims. Funded in the fall of 2006, the purpose of this exploratory project is to develop information on how HHS programs are currently addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking, including domestic victims, with a priority focus on domestic youth. This project also consists of reviewing relevant literature, and identifying barriers and promising practices for addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking, with a goal of informing current and future program design and improving services to this extremely vulnerable population.

This issue brief addresses the trauma experienced by most trafficking victims, its impact on health and well-being, some of the challenges to meeting trauma-related needs of trafficking victims, and promising approaches to treatment and recovery. While this issue brief touches on trauma across human trafficking populations, it has a special emphasis on trauma resulting from sex trafficking of women and girls.

Trauma and Its Impact

Recent trauma studies have deepened our understanding of trauma and its impact. They describe a complex range of post-trauma symptoms and identify the interactions of multiple factors as contributing to their seriousness (Briere & Spinazzola, 2005). For example, more serious symptoms are associated with histories of multiple victimizations, often beginning in childhood and resulting in disruptions of parent-child relationships (Ford & Kidd, 1998; Turner, Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2006). More profound impacts are also associated with co-occurring behavioral health problems, like substance abuse disorders, (Acierno, Resnick, Kilpatrick, Saunders, & Best, 1991) and with a range of other issues, like limited social supports, lower socioeconomic status, and stigma associated with particular traumatic events (Brier & Spinozzola, 2005).

Trauma exposure occurs along a continuum of complexity, from the less complex single, adult-onset incident (e.g., a car accident) where all else is stable in a persons life, to the repeated and intrusive trauma frequently of an interpersonal nature, often involving a significant amount of stigma or shame and where an individual may be more vulnerable, due to a variety of factors, to its effects (Briere & Spinazzola, 2005, p. 401). It is on this far end of the continuum where victims of human trafficking, especially sex trafficking, can be placed.

Post-Trauma Responses for Victims of Human Trafficking

Most of the literature on trauma and trafficking focuses on the trafficking of foreign-born women and girls for commercial sexual exploitation. In addition to experiencing terrorizing physical and sexual violence, researchers report that victims often experience multiple layers of trauma including psychological damage from captivity and fear of reprisals if escape is contemplated, brainwashing, and for some, a long history of family, community, or national violence (Stark & Hodgson, 2003; Ugarte, Zarate, & Farley, 2003).

Additionally, the emotional effects of trauma can be persistent and devastating. Victims of human trafficking may suffer from anxiety, panic disorder, major depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders as well as a combination of these. For some victims, the trauma induced by someone they once trusted results in pervasive mistrust of others and their motives. This impact of trauma can make the job of first responders and those trying to help victims difficult at best.

In some cases, the exposure to trauma results in a condition referred to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a mental health diagnostic category created originally for war combatants and disaster victims but which also applies to victims of other traumas, including trafficking victims. For those that struggle with PTSD, the characterizing symptoms include intrusive re-experiencing of the trauma (e.g., flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts), avoidance or numbing of trauma-related, or trauma-triggering, stimuli (e.g. avoiding certain places, people, and situations), and hyper arousal (e.g., heightened startle response, and inability to concentrate). For both adults and youth, once established, PTSD is usually chronic and debilitating if left untreated (Feeny, Foa, Treadwell & March, 2004).

Post-trauma responses like those outlined above reportedly contribute to problems with functioning, including difficulties controlling emotions, sudden outbursts of anger or self-mutilation (Briere & Gil, 1998), difficulties concentrating, suicidal behaviors (Zlotnick, Donaldson, Spirito, & Pearlstein, 1997), alterations in consciousness (dissociation), and increased risk taking. These post-traumatic symptoms and problems reflect those service providers often identify as common among the trafficking victims they work with. For some victims, in particular victims of sex trafficking, the use of alcohol and drugs to escape these emotional states is also a problem.

In addition to emotional problems, physical health problems can also predominate and result from the trauma of physical injury or indirectly through stress-related illnesses. For example, service providers report victims often complain of stomach pain, headaches, and other unexplained ailments. Given the impact of these trauma symptoms on the emotional and physical well-being of victims, it is not surprising that some victims of human trafficking experience difficulties obtaining and holding down a job, paying bills, and reintegrating back into society.

Challenges in Meeting the Needs of Trafficking Victims who have Experienced Traumatic Abuse

Many of the health and social needs of trafficking victims stem directly from their experience with trauma and the brutal reality of unremitting threats or actual physical and sexual violence. Meeting these needs, in particular providing mental health treatment and trauma-informed services, is not without challenges. Service providers report the following barriers and challenges to getting victims help in dealing with their trauma.

Limited availability and access to appropriate mental health services. Issues of affordability and access to services, as well as responsiveness of those services to the complex needs of survivors, are common issues identified by service providers. Providers uniformly point to access to mental health services as a significant challenge for both international and domestic victims.

For most victims, shame is seen as one of the greatest barriers preventing them from seeking mental health services. Providers note that the stigma associated with mental illness is an especially prominent challenge in engaging foreign-born and male victims in treatment.

For other victims, while providers report a willingness to seek help for physical health complaints, the underlying cause of the physical problems or symptoms the trauma often goes ignored and untreated.

For U.S. minor victims, barriers to accessing mental health services are linked primarily to the issues of confidentiality and concerns that someone will find out what has happened to them, lack of identification documents, lack of insurance, and system-related jurisdictional issues. For example, as one provider notes, it is often assumed that child welfare systems will provide mental health services for minors. Requirements to report minors to child protective services, however, do not necessarily result in access to treatment. If the abuse is not inflicted by a parent or legal guardian, the case is often seen as outside the jurisdiction of the system. In such cases the minors fall through the cracks and do not receive services they need. But there are still challenges even if a youth has health insurance or is served under the child welfare system. Most providers note that referral sources for mental health treatment or counseling are limited for youth, as well as for adults. In one community, the wait for a psychiatric referral for youth was up to seven months.

Once access to mental health or counseling services is obtained, many providers are unable to maintain the long-term treatment that many victims require. Providers report that insurance and/or funding restrictions often limit the number of sessions that a victim can receive. Furthermore, traditional therapeutic services are often ill-designed to respond to the needs of transient victim populations, in particular U.S. minor victims, who sometimes find it difficult to meet expectations for weekly appointments. Responsive mental health treatment requires considerable flexibility which may not be supported by existing systems of care. Therefore, while getting services in response to the immediate crisis is not viewed as a problem in most cases, helping a victim with long-term trauma recovery is a significant concern.

Difficulty establishing trusting relationships with victims. For both law enforcement and service providers, getting victims to trust them and accept help is a huge obstacle. They acknowledged that while building trust takes time, time is something that often worked against both law enforcement and providers. Many of the services available for victims are described as time limited. For example, both domestic violence shelters and runaway and homeless youth programs, where most counseling services are offered on-site to victims, generally provide for short stays that do not allow adequate time to establish trusting relationships needed in order for a victim to open up and begin to address their trauma. The mistrust of victims often is due to their histories of betrayal from families, service systems, and in some cases, law enforcement and governments. But in addition, a victims mistrust is often compounded by fears that connections with law enforcement and/or service providers can compromise their physical safety (e.g., the trafficker will find them, they will be deported, or they will be sent back to an abusive home).

Mandated treatment efforts may be counterproductive when working with victims. In some communities, the only way to access mental health screening and treatment services is to be committed to a locked treatment facility. Having already experienced the loss of control to traffickers, this can make being in locked treatment facilities or detention centers seem particularly threatening, essentially re-traumatizing victims and frustrating their recovery.

Secrecy is a trademark of the women and girls involved in sex trafficking; victims may not define their experience as abusive, or attempt to escape. A complex web of coping strategies and harsh realities make it hard for some victims to seek and receive help. The shame and stigma of sex trafficking may lead them to conceal their involvement in prostitution, even in therapeutic relationships where success is dependent on frank disclosure and working through the trauma (Herman, 2003). In addition, if a victim does not define her experience as abusive, no matter how dangerous, she will not likely seek help or engage in recovery (Ugarte et al., 2003).

Foreign-born trafficking victims face additional barriers related to language, culture, and isolation. Lack of English skills for foreign-born victims limit their ability to access information about rights, services and options. Isolation due to these language barriers as well as cultural differences can be hard for any new immigrant but are particularly devastating for trafficking victims by reinforcing their captivity. (It should be noted that the isolation of domestic victims moved repeatedly throughout the country has some of the same effects.) Forming outside supports is critical in fighting the isolation and ultimately getting victims the help they need. Shifts in traditional Western professional treatment paradigms to more nontraditional interventions and support groups (which recognize oppression when working with people of low economic status and low power) have been noted as key to working with immigrant and refugee victims (Hotaling et al., 2003 p. 257).

Trauma Informed and Specific Services

Given this range of challenges, what do we know about the way systems and services can best respond to the complex and multiple needs of trafficking victims? One especially useful framework characterizes two broad categories of service delivery: trauma informed services, appropriate for all systems of care in which victims may present; and trauma specific services, designed to treat the actual symptoms of physical or sexual abuse in specialty treatment programs (Harris & Fallot, 2001).

This framework is especially appropriate to working with trafficked women and girls since they are likely to present in a variety of systems of care for other than their trauma-related needs. Trauma informed services can promote a sensitive and relevant response regardless of where a victim seeks help, and can also improve the identification of victims. At the same time, trafficking victims are likely to need more specific and long-term trauma treatment. The distinction between trauma informed and trauma specific services can help providers better pinpoint where their services are located on the continuum and what it might take (including training, supervision, additional program components and networking) to create a more continuous and comprehensive system for victims of human trafficking.

Trauma informed services encompass two distinctly different things. According to Harris & Fallot (2001), to be trauma informed means, first, to know the history of past and current abuse in the life of your clients. This information allows for a more integrated and appropriate approach to meeting their needs. But second, to be trauma informed means to understand the role that violence and victimization play in the lives of most consumers of services and to use that understanding to design service systems that accommodate the vulnerabilities of trauma survivors and allow services to be delivered in a way that will facilitate consumer participation in treatment. (Harris & Fallot, 2001, pp. 4-5) Trauma informed services are generally developed to treat primary problems other than trauma, by building capacity within those systems of care where survivors of trauma may present (i.e., homeless shelters, substance abuse treatment programs, the criminal/juvenile justice systems, mental health programs, medical programs, etc.). Regardless of the agency or systems primary mission, trauma informed services are committed to providing services in a manner that is welcoming and appropriate to the special needs of trauma survivors. Both the identification of victims, and successful treatment of their trauma, can be improved by having trauma informed services provided in multiple systems.

Trauma specific services, on the other hand, are likely to be found with specialty mental health programs or providers, although they clearly could be developed in other medical settings, homeless shelters, or other systems of care. They are generally accessed by referral to those doing the clinical work. A variety of trauma specific techniques are in the repertoire of these services. Among them may be grounding techniques to help manage dissociative symptoms; desensitization therapies to help make painful images more tolerable; and certain behavioral therapies which teach skills for coping with post-trauma effects (Harris & Fallot, 2001). These therapies can be delivered individually or in groups, and are often augmented by other complimentary approaches, including culturally relevant material.

Core Components of Trauma Informed and Specific Services

While the needs of individual trafficking victims with histories of trauma may vary considerably, the systems of care in which they are likely to present (child welfare; criminal justice; immigration; public health and behavioral health) can be better prepared to recognize their needs and help accordingly. Core components of a system of care responsive to the trauma-related needs of trafficking victims should include a set of core principles and practices based upon providers understanding that:

Trauma is a defining life event with a complex course which can profoundly shape a victims sense of self and others;

The victims complaints, behaviors and symptoms are coping mechanisms (their original sources of strength may no longer be effective), and requiring use of a relational, rather than individualized or confrontational, approach to their solution;

The primary goals of services are empowerment and recovery(growth, mastery, and efficacy) which are prevention-driven and limited by survivor self-assessment and recovery needs; and

The service relationship is collaborative, with victim and provider having equally valuable knowledge, the victim can be an active planner and participant in services, his/her safety ensured, a priority placed on choice and self control, and trust developed over time (Harris & Fallot, 2001).

Specific core components that are based on these beliefs and practices are listed below.

Review of agency policies and procedures to identify and remove any that are potentially unsafe and harmful to trafficking victims with histories of trauma. Internal reviews, using a trauma lens, can be especially helpful in identifying policies and procedures (e.g., strip searches, locked holding pens) which can be damaging to trafficking victims experiencing trauma disorders. Conversely, assessing the degree to which policies and procedures support a welcoming and agency-wide trauma informed perspective, within an overall planning process, can help clarify an agencys needs (for staff and training) and the role it expects to play within a comprehensive network of community services.

Education and training of staff, including those working directly with trafficking victims as well as other providers in relevant systems of care. Education of staff might include training on the complex interactions of trauma, substance use, emotional disorders and physical illness; multicultural education on specialized approaches to working with foreign-born victims; as well as basic safety issues in working with victims and approaches to treatment. Training should also include helping caregivers understand the experience of being trafficked, who is most vulnerable to trafficking, the techniques traffickers use to recruit victims, the impact on victims, and what a path to recovery can look like.

Understands that certain survivor behaviors are a response to trauma;

Is knowledgeable regarding the mental health [and substance abuse] effects of violence and in particular, sexual violence;

Is skilled and knowledgeable regarding trauma and trauma treatment;

Is able to provide culturally competent services and seeks supervision regarding cultural issues;

Is responsive to emergency mental health issues of clients

Screening for trauma in multiple settings. Identification is the first and necessary step in assuring victims get the help they need. In some cases, providers may be reluctant to ask sensitive questions early on in the relationship building process; however, not raising those questions at all can be more detrimental. For victims of sex trafficking, culturally sensitive screening that incorporates multiple references to sexual abuse has been considered beneficial in reframing the abuse and shifting responsibility to the perpetrators (Ugarte et al., 2003). Staff who conduct these screening will need adequate skills, supervision, and supports.

Ensuring safety and meeting basic service needs. Establishing physical and psychological safety is considered a pre-requisite in working with trafficking victims with trauma histories. This may mean collaboratively assessing the current level of client safety and developing together plans to remain safe. It can also mean designing each component of service to prioritize safety. For example, an outreach and engagement activity under this rubric would prioritize safety and control by explicitly seeking permission to speak with a victim, asking about the amount of privacy he/she might want for an initial conversation, and following his/her lead on disclosure. Safety may also include working with a clinician who is respectful, non-judgmental, and allows the victim to explore his/her history in a safe and containing way. In addition and complementary to safety, providers emphasize several basic services that are critical components to comprehensively meeting the needs of individuals who have experienced trauma, including safe housing, life skills, health care, legal services, and vocational supports (Finkelstein et al., 2004). Developing multidisciplinary collaborative networks of programs across systems of care can help facilitate comprehensively addressing multiple needs.

Building long-term, sustaining relationships and providing opportunities for regaining valued social roles. A critical part of trauma recovery and building new lives for trafficking victims involves the development of trusting, long-term relationships. This often needs to occur well before a victim is willing to engage in trauma specific treatment. These relationships are developed in some programs with care coordinators who assist with identifying and helping to meet a victims basic needs. Care coordinators are sometimes the link (through gentle and respectful suggestion) between basic services and mental health treatment, where needed. Other programs, working especially with immigrant women, emphasize relationship building through more natural and culturally familiar supports, including home visits, sharing a meal, etc. Helping victims connect with valued social roles, such as providing opportunities for peer leadership and community action are also noted by trafficking survivors and providers as opportunities to regain or reshape a victims sense of self and capabilities.

Access to trauma specific treatment services. In addition to the trauma informed strategies outlined above, providers working with trauma survivors must have access to a range of trauma specific interventions, including individual clinicians willing, available and culturally competent to work with victims of human trafficking, as well as groups designed to meet their often multiple treatment needs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapies have been most studied and therefore have the largest evidence-base supporting their effectiveness in reducing PTSD symptoms (Feeny et al., 2004; Foa and Rothbaum, 1998). In addition, evolving trauma-theory specific to complex trauma emphasizes that treatment should address developmental and relationship difficulties in addition to PTSD symptoms (Pearlman & Courtois, 2005).

Several treatment approaches have been developed for complex trauma specific to adolescents, using group therapy to address skills development, affect regulation, interpersonal connections and competence and resiliency building. These interventions all emphasize the relationship between symptoms and the traumatic experience, the development of concrete coping skills in managing symptoms, and the use of peer support groups to increase normalization, build healthy interpersonal relationship skills, and establish social supports (Cook et al., 2005). One program for sexually exploited teens emphasizes the importance that youth make the connection between their physical symptoms and mental health. Weaving mental health into other strategies, like art or music therapy, appear especially promising.

Providers also need to understand and assess the role that culture plays in resiliency and the importance of community resources as potentially mediating the trauma experience, especially for foreign-born victims. Individually-focused Western conceptualizations of trauma may miss the potential strengths inherent in culture and community to enhance engagement in healthy relationships and promote recovery (Tsoi Hoshmand, 2007; Argenti-Pullen, 2000; Burstow, 2003; Summerfield, 2004).

Making peer models and supports available. Given the challenges for trafficking victims in developing trusting relationships with professionals, there was wide acceptance among providers that successful programs need to incorporate peer-to-peer counseling and supports among their core components. Particularly for victims of human trafficking, where shame promotes secrecy, individuals can be most comfortable with peers who understand, and have lived, their own struggles. Both service providers and victims highlight the critical importance of non-judgmental, empathic peer support that allows trauma victims to successfully make the transition to a new life. Furthermore, peer led services can reduce or remove the cultural and language barriers that can get in the way of successful recovery. Structured peer support additionally offers the opportunity for survivors to develop a new identity as a valued and responsible member of a community. (Herman, 2003 p.11)

More and more programs for victims of human trafficking are starting to engage survivors in programming. This includes peer counsels assisting in program decision-making and peers providing group-mentoring/support to current clients. Peers are often individuals who graduated from the program. Interviews with survivors suggest that, when they are ready, involving them in the care of others can be beneficial to both the survivor and the victims they work with. Other programs have formed communities of survivors to serve as peer groups to assist other victims in rebuilding their sense of personal efficacy. Part of the success of these groups involves allowing the victims to set the agenda for meetings and focus on what is most important to them; which have included computer training, language classes, ethnic celebrations, and writing plays about their experiences.

Developing alternatives to traditional therapies. Alternatives to traditional therapies, especially those that build self-esteem, empowerment, and re-connection with self, are considered important adjunct services for this population. Art therapy, journaling, poetry and song writing, yoga, body work, drama, and outdoor physical activities are some examples of this strategy. Given the difficulty some victims have with self-soothing (an impact of trauma), it is not surprising that several programs use music as part of their therapy. Some programs report offering organized religious or spiritual activities to help victims connect to something that will last beyond the program timeframe. For several of the youth programs, engaging victims in decision making, providing leadership opportunities, and helping youth develop valued social roles is part of therapy. For adults, programs offered acupuncture, meditation, and a variety of other alternatives to traditional therapy within their agencies.

SAGE is a human rights non-profit survivor-run drug, mental health, and trauma treatment center in San Francisco, California. Its peer counseling model avoids a traditional approach to trauma treatment that positions service providers as clinically neutral authority figures. Rather, SAGE provides client centered supportive partnerships which address the social, political and economic contexts of client difficulties. SAGE combines the peer counseling with a host of other services, including alternative trauma treatments, such as acupuncture, art therapy, massage, healing touch, movement, and drama. SAGE also has a broad referral network which includes therapists specializing in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), an information processing therapy that integrates elements of many effective psychotherapies (psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, experiential, and body-centered therapies in structured protocols that are designed to maximize treatment effects (Shapiro, 2001), and willing to provide pro bono services.

Summary

Victims of human trafficking are especially vulnerable to the debilitating physical and psychological symptoms of trauma resulting from their repeated, intrusive, and long-term abuse. Providers working with this population, in particular with sexually exploited women and girls, emphasize that trauma recovery is critical to a victims ability to repair and regain her life. However, there are many challenges to meeting the trauma-related needs of

trafficking victims, especially since a comprehensive approach, which includes building basic supports and safety as well as treatment, often crosses multiple systems of care. Building trauma-informed and trauma-specific services offers the promise of identifying and responding to victims where they present (i.e., in other than the mental health system) with services that cover the spectrum of their needs. Building long-term, trusting relationships is at the heart of this work, which requires time and flexible models of engagement and treatment, including peer-to-peer work. In addition to group and individual trauma-specific counseling, a range of alternative therapies offer promise in helping victims build self-esteem, empowerment and re-connection with themselves and society. For foreign-born victims, promising models that recognize the limitations of individualized Western treatment and the healing potential of culture and community resources show promise.
If you think you have come in contact with a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1.888.3737.888.
Outreach and education materials are available atwww.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking.
The issue briefs in this series and the final study report can be downloaded from the following Web sites:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/HumanTrafficking/ or http://www.icfi.com/markets/social-programs/

References

Acierno, R., Resnick, H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Saunders, B. E., & Best, C. L. (1999). Risk factors for rape, physical assault, and post-traumatic stress disorder in women: Examination of differential multivariate relationships. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13, 541-563.

Argenti-Pillen, A. (2000). The discourse on trauma in non-western cultural contexts: Contributions of an ethnographic method. In A. Y. Shalev, R. Yehuda, & A. C. McFarlane (Eds). International Handbook of Human Response to Trauma. New York: Academic/ Plenum Publishers.

Briere, J., & Gil, E. (1998). Self-mutilation in clinical and general population samples: Prevalence, correlates and functions. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68, 609620.

Briere, J., & Spinazzola, J. (2005). Phenomenology and psychological assessment of complex posttraumatic states. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18(5), 401-412.

Burstow, B. (2003). Toward a radical understanding of trauma and trauma work. Violence Against Women, 9(11), 1293-1317.

Cook, A., Spinazzola, J., Ford, J., Lanktree, C., Blaustein, M., Cloitre, M, et al. (2005). Complex trauma in children and adolescents. Psychiatric Annals, 35, 390-398.

Feeny, N. C., Foa, E. B., Treadwell, K. R. H., & March, J. (2004). Posttraumatic stress disorder in youth: A critical review of the cognitive and behavioral treatment outcome literature. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35(5), 466-476.

Finkelstein, N., VandeMark, N., Fallot, R., Brown, V., Cadiz, S., & Heckman, J. (2004). Enhancing substance abuse recovery through integrated trauma treatment. (ResID Number: 13734). Sarasota, FL: National Trauma Consortium.

Foa, E. B., & Rothbaum, B. O. (1998). Treating the trauma of rape: Cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD. New York: Guilford Press.

Ford, J. D., & Kidd, P. (1998). Early childhood trauma and disorders of extreme stress as predictors of treatment outcome with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11(4), 743-761.

Harris, M., & Fallot, R. D. (Eds.) (2001). Using trauma theory to design service systems: New directions for mental health services. New York: Jossey-Bass.

Herman, J. L. (2003). Hidden in plain sight: Clinical observations on prostitution. In M. Farley (Ed.). Prostitution, trafficking, and traumatic stress (pp. 1-16). Binghamton, NY: The Hawthorne Maltreatment and Trauma Press.

Hotaling, N., Burris, A. B., Johnson, B. J., Bird, Y. M., & Melbye, K. A. (2003). Been there done that: SAGE, a peer leadership model among prostitution survivors. In Farley, M. (2003). Prostitution, trafficking, and traumatic stress (pp. 255-265). New York: Haworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press.

Pearlman, L. A., & Courtois, C. A. (2005). Clinical applications of the attachment framework: Relational treatment of complex trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18(5), 449-459.

Shapiro, F. (2001). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Basic principles, protocols and procedures (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Stark, C., & Hodgson, C. (2003). Sister oppressions: A comparison of wife battering and prostitution. In M. Farley (Ed.). Prostitution, trafficking, and traumatic stress. Binghamtom, NY: The Hawthorne Press, Inc.

Summerfield, D. (2004). Cross cultural perspectives on the medicalisation of human suffering. In G. Rosen (Ed.). Posttraumatic stress disorder: Issues and controversies. New York, NY: John Wiley, Inc.

Tsoi Hoshman, L. (2007). Cultural-ecological perspectives on the understanding and assessment of trauma. In J. P. Wilson & C. So-kum Tang (Eds.). Cross-cultural assessment of psychological trauma and PTSD (pp. 31-50). Springer, US.

Turner, H. A., Finkelhor, D., & Ormrod, R. (2006). The effect of lifetime victimization on the mental health of children and adolescents. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 13-27.

Ugarte, M. B., Zarate, L., & Farley, M. (2003). Prostitution and trafficking of women and children from Mexico to the United States. In M. Farley (Ed.). Prostitution, trafficking, and traumatic stress (pp. 147-165). Binghamton, NY: The Hawthorne Maltreatment Press.

Zlotnick, C., Donaldson, D., Spririto, A., & Pearlstein, T. (1997). Affect regulation and suicide attempts in adolescent inpatients. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 793-798.

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Treating the Hidden Wounds: Trauma Treatment and Mental Health Recovery for Victims of Human Trafficking

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Establishing social and emotional safety in the classroom.

This can help with psychological damage from captivity, as well as building social support amongst peers

Within the classroom you can teach how to actively listen and be empathetic

Create behavior-management plans that focuses on positive reinforcement

Focusing on praising students rather than punishing them

It can help with emotional and behavioral dysregulation

Gives students an opportunity to show their strengths and build their confidence

Increasing self-awareness and trauma competency

Know the difference between 'trauma informed services' and 'trauma specific services', this way you will know how to meet the needs of traumatized students as well as programs or providers that can help.

Have professional development meeting with the staff to ensure that everyone is equipped with knowledge on how to approach and communicate with the students

Build relationships and connections with organizations within the community for support and accessible resources

Have quarterly assessments and reflections on how to respond to trauma

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Responding to Trauma in Your Classroom

Bad Behavior or Reacting to Trauma?

Think of a student who challenges you. Have you observed any of these behaviors in that student?

Excessive anger

Unusual startle reactions

Loss of appetite

Extreme fatigue

Physical or verbal aggression

Regular tardiness or absence from class

Perfectionistic, controlling or anxious behavior

Difficulty concentrating

Frequent headaches or stomachaches

Low self-confidence

Irritability

Clinginess

Trouble making friends

Self-harm or suicidal ideation

Hoarding

Risky behaviors (including drug or alcohol abuse or sexual acting out)

Panic attacks

Extreme self-reliance

Running away

Defiance

Alienation from peers

If you've observed even some of these behaviors (or other troubling symptoms), you may have a student who is directly or indirectly experiencing trauma. Trauma can be defined as the reaction to a shocking or painful event or series of negative events. Some traumas require immediate intervention and court-mandated reporting; others go by unmarked. Regardless of whether or not you are aware of the details, there are things you can do to mitigate the effects of trauma for individual students and for all students in your classroom.
Source: Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County
What Causes Trauma?

Trauma affects the ways individuals feel, think and behave. It influences self-perception as well as beliefs about other people and the world.

Though this list is not exhaustive, traumatic experiences can include:

Medical crises

Accidents or injuries (like a house fire or car collision that threatens the student's safety)

Bullying or harassment

Family separation (due to incarceration, deployment, divorce, foster placement or death)

Natural disaster

Abuse (emotional, physical or sexual)

Neglect

Observation of domestic, community or school violence

Substance abuse

Mental illness

Terrorism and war

Instability due to being unhoused

Poverty

Overt discrimination or constant microaggressions

Refugee or undocumented status

More students may suffer trauma-or suffer more trauma-than you can see or know. Trauma is difficult to assess and identify; it's also specific to the individual. An event that may traumatize one person may not traumatize another person. Moreover, the same event may lead to different trauma symptoms in different people.
Source: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Responding to Trauma

Proactively applying trauma-informed classroom strategies benefits all students. Students respond positively when educators get to know their individual circumstances, affirm their identities and cultivate empathy in the classroom. Here are some ideas to consider incorporating in your teaching practice:

Establish social and emotional safety in your classroom.

Social and emotional safety is the cornerstone of positive classroom outcomes. Research shows that students need to feel both physically and emotionally safe to learn. Students experiencing trauma, including bias, bullying and social isolation, are more likely to feel unsafe.
Strategies

Classroom contracts

Explicit anti-bullying or community-building curricula

Timely interventions in conflicts and hurtful exchanges

Teaching and modeling of empathy and active listening skills

Create a behavior-management plan that focuses on positive reinforcement.

Discipline and behavior management are central to classroom culture and often present unique challenges for students responding to traumatic events or experiences. Foster compassion for and among your students. Focus on praising students for appropriate classroom behavior, not on punishment.
Strategies

Implement student-generated agreements and contracts

Adopt "zero indifference" (NOT zero-tolerance) policies

Seek out training in restorative justice techniques

Explore stress-management strategies to diffuse tense situations and help students process feelings in the moment

Give students opportunities to demonstrate their strengths

Increase your self-awareness and trauma competency.

Increase your knowledge about trauma and how it may manifest for your students. Remember, students respond to trauma in different ways, and their responses may be influenced by cultural traditions, religious beliefs or familial relationships. Connect with students and their families to identify resources and services that can inform how best to support students who experience trauma.
Strategies

Seek professional development on working with specific identity groups

Share support resources with other educators

Connect with community organizations

Engage in ongoing self-assessment and reflection on your trauma responsiveness

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Trauma can have significant and lasting effects on students. This PD Café will help you learn how to recognize the signs of trauma, better understand the causes of trauma, and take steps to establish social and emotional safety in your classroom.

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Childhood Traumatic Grief: Information for School Personnel

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Childhood Traumatic Grief: Information for School Personnel

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Everyone experiences loss and grief at some point. People grieve in different ways, and sometimes, a student who is grieving may not show unusual signs. However, traumatic grief in children is different, and there are certain signs to observe. According to the above article, "In Childhood Traumatic Grief, students have traumatic stress reactions to a death which interfere with their ability to accomplish the tasks of bereavement." For example:

A high school student whose father died in a car accident quits the baseball team because his father was a baseball coach, and playing baseball reminds him of the accident.

Having witnessed a shooting, a girl is afraid to sleep at night because she has nightmares about the event.

Cases of childhood traumatic grief occur in a small percentage of students who deal with grief, often when the death is sudden or surprising to the student. For example, as a result of:

Homicide or suicide

Mass shooting

Disaster

Accident

Sudden health condition (heart attack)

OR if the student did not expect the death, even if it was of natural causes

Example Reactions - Signs to Watch For:

Random or triggered negative memories, flashbacks, thoughts

Reenacting the death or accident (preschool age)

Physical signs of distress: headaches, nausea, distraction, etc.

Avoidance/withdrawal

Strong negative moods/outbursts: anger, guilt, shame, blaming, fear, etc.

Substance abuse, suicidal tendencies, signs of depression

Response & Intervention:

Any intervention should be one that is clinically tested and approved, and it should be administered according to well a documented treatment plan and followed up with appropriate assessments. Beyond intervention, there are a variety of ways teachers and school personnel can respond when a student is dealing with traumatic grief. The full list can be viewed in the article, but here is a short list to summarize:

Listen, be available and supportive

Understand angry outbursts (avoid punishments, seek understanding, and embrace the process)

Raise awareness for all (teachers, coaches, others) involved in the child's life of what is going on

Modify teaching/differentiate

Answer questions, communicate with family, and offer support

Make referrals (to appropriate professional help)

Childhood Traumatic Grief: Information for School Personnel. (2022, March 28). The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. https://www.nctsn.org/resources/childhood-traumatic-grief-information-for-school-personnel

Interventions. (2018, August 20). The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/traumatic-grief/interventions

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This site has a similar overview as the pdf from NCTSN, but it also listed some helpful coping suggestions:

Keeping a routine and maintaining structure can really help provide stability and safety the child needs during this time.

Acknowledging how they are feeling

Thinking about it: this may require help from a therapist.

Expressing themselves

I found this list helpful because it shows some straightforward examples of what people undergoing traumatic grief need in order to get through the process. These are things we, as teachers, can help with, and at least be aware of when dealing with students in these situations.

Coelho, S. (2022, January 25). What Is Traumatic Grief? Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/health/traumatic-grief

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Traumatic grief is a form of grief that happens in response to a sudden, unexpected loss.

Grieving is always difficult. And when a loss is sudden, coping in the aftermath can feel impossibly hard.

Everyone grieves at some point in their life, and it affects people in all sorts of ways. When grieving, you may find it difficult to move forward.

But while it can feel tough right now, there are ways to heal and manage the grief you're feeling.

Traumatic grief can happen in response to a sudden, unexpected loss.

For example, maybe you lost a child, or experienced the violent death of someone close to you. It might also involve losing your support system.

Traumatic grief is different from the grief that happens from an expected loss, such as when someone passes away after a long chronic illness.

That doesn't mean that other forms of grief are any less difficult to deal with. In some people, it may even lead to prolonged grief disorder, also called complicated grief.

Traumatic grief is more likely to lead to complicated grief. And the feelings that come with traumatic grief are also much more intense.

"The shock and unexpected nature of the loss can be traumatizing and trigger intrusive, preoccupying thoughts or bodily responses that are essentially distorted survival mechanisms in addition to the mourning of whatever was unexpectedly lost," says Michael Roeske, PsyD and executive director at Newport Healthcare Connecticut.

Traumatic grief is also related to prolonged grief disorder, says Roeske. Sometimes, people use the terms interchangeably. Prolonged grief disorder involves a deep longing for the lost loved one and constant thoughts about them, which can interfere with your everyday life.

Evidence suggests that people are more likely to develop complicated grief disorder if the circumstances of the loss are traumatic in some way, like an accident or natural disaster. For many people, the loss of a child may be the most traumatic form of family loss.

According to Roeske, finding out about an unexpected death can also cause grief that leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental health condition that causes disturbing, intrusive thoughts related to the initiating traumatic event.

Research involving adults who lost someone during 9/11 found that about 43% had what could be categorized as complicated grief with PTSD 3 years after the event.

PTSD relating to grief is also especially likely if you have an existing mental health condition at the time you experience a traumatic loss, adds Roeske.

If you're living with depression, for example, you may have a more pronounced reaction to a loss.

We all experience grief differently. There's no right or wrong way to grieve a loss. But if you're experiencing traumatic grief, it may look different from other forms of grieving. Symptoms can include:

According to Roeske, people experiencing traumatic grief may also feel angry and that what's happened is unfair. They may also feel like they have unfinished business or something they need to work on.

The symptoms are more intense, pervasive, and persistent than regular grief. "Those experiencing traumatic grief are also more likely to feel fear for themselves and/or others," adds Roeske.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), physical symptoms may also include:

shakiness or trembling

nausea

loss of appetite

dry mouth

problems sleeping

trouble breathing

muscle weakness

People deal with grief in different ways, but some things may be more helpful than others in getting you through this difficult time.

Focus on routine and maintaining structure

"It is best to first stabilize the trauma by focusing on how to regulate emotions and calm the nervous system before trying anything else," says Roeske.

Soothing the nervous system looks different for everybody, but doing things that you enjoy is a good place to start. For some people, grounding exercises help them feel more connected to their bodies and surroundings.

Following a routine helps people to feel safe and cared for. Keeping regular mealtimes and prioritizing sleep may give you a greater capacity to regulate your emotions throughout the day.

Know that your feelings are not uncommon

Everyone deals with grief at some point and handles it differently. There's nothing wrong with you if you're experiencing traumatic grief that's impacting your usual activities. You just might need extra support.

Acknowledge how you're feeling

By understanding and identifying traumatic grief, you're better equipped to deal with and manage those feelings, adds Roeske.

Think about it

Avoid trying to ignore your pain and grief. "Allow yourself to think about what happened instead of numbing or blocking it out," Roeske says.

Express yourself

If you're finding it tough to make sense of your feelings, journaling about your grief may help. It may even be a good first step before opening up to others.

Lean on others

Share how you're feeling with people around you. Some people find it particularly helpful to talk with people who have experienced the same type of loss by joining grief support groups.

If you're supporting someone who has experienced a sudden loss, try being a good listener. It can help to let the person talk about their loved one and grief.

In a 2021 study on forms of support for traumatic grief, responders commonly said that they appreciated it when people let them mention the name of the person they lost without being made to feel awkward.

"Grief is different for every person and every loss. It can last for weeks, months, or even years. This is why working with a mental health professional can be so important and beneficial in healing," says Roeske.

He recommends seeing a mental health professional if your grief is having a negative impact on your life. If you're having trouble eating, sleeping, or otherwise taking care of yourself, that's a sign it's time to talk with someone about how you're feeling.

If you're looking for extra support, these resources may help:

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Traumatic Grief: What it Is, Symptoms, and How to Cope

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Traumatic grief is a form of grief that happens in response to a sudden, unexpected loss. Grieving is always difficult. And when a loss is sudden, coping in the aftermath can feel impossibly hard. Everyone grieves at some point in their life, and it affects people in all sorts of ways.

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This site shed light on how sometimes traumatic grief can impact more than one individual student. They, along with the other resources, recommend having a traumatic crisis intervention plan for schools to know what to do if a student (or group) has to deal with traumatic grief. Essential Health included a 5-level scale to determine the severity of the traumatic crisis that a school may encounter:

Traumatic Event Scale of Response
-  Level 1: Situation is confined to an individual or small group
-  Level 2: Class or Grade is effected
-  Level 3: Multiple grade levels and potentially entire building is impacted
-  Level 4: Multiple buildings and sizable portion of district impacted
-  Level 5: Catastrophic incident with widespread and profound impact on entire school community

I found this helpful since some schools have to respond to traumatic grief on a larger level than a single student. In the case of a natural disaster or, for example, a shooting at the school, it may be that many more students are undergoing traumatic stress. Schools should have a basic plan in place to respond if something should happen on any of the levels listed above. This will help them respond in a timely and effective manner, which will certainly be needed in such extreme cases.

Traumatic Grief. (n.d.). EssentialHealth.com. Retrieved December 8, 2022, from https://www.essentiahealth.org/services/behavioral-mental-health-services/grief-bereavement-support/resources/traumatic-grief/

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Following the sudden and unexpected injury or death of a co-worker, friend, or family member it is common to experience stress reactions. These emotional after shocks may occur immediately, a few hours, or a few days later. And in some cases, weeks or months may pass before the stress reactions occur.