Health and Wellness Information:
Valuing Survival, Healing, and Trauma and Addiction Recovery

One of the weapons a pimp or abuser uses to trap someone into prostitution and keep her there is the message: if you have been raped or molested, or if you have been involved in prostitution once, you are “damaged goods”, or “trash”. This message gains strength from the deep pain and feelings of vulnerability that come with sexual exploitation or abuse, and from the parts of societies which tend to blame and scapegoat people who are abused or violated.

Some of the core beliefs that we at SAGE bring to this work are the recognition that the individuals who are in the sex industries are human beings, that the pain and shame victims of sexual exploitation feel is very, very important—and never deserved, and that there is reason to be very hopeful that with support, care, and reassurance—people who have been deeply injured and humiliated can heal.

People who are or have been in the sex industries are often really “set up to fail” in many recovery programs, and certainly in the criminal justice system. For many, entry into prostitution comes after repeated experiences of sexual violence and molestation, or learning to numb out or cope with overwhelming pain through drug use or self-injury, or repeated betrayals. Really treating and nurturing the wounds inflicted through sexual exploitation means addressing all of the things that may potentially have come before, or accompanied it: betrayals by loved ones, child sexual abuse, addiction and self-injuring behaviors, rape, domestic violence, family addiction histories, poverty, kidnapping, racism, homelessness, torture, homophobia or trans-phobia (anti-transgender hatred or fear).

Programs which punish or shame survivors of violence, or which address addiction without addressing the pain and trauma underneath it, often make survivors of sexual exploitation feel weaker, or unable to heal—because without addressing the deep hurts, it’s really normal to have difficulty changing, or to feel unable to stop using drugs to deal with the pain.

We believe that it is hard, but very possible with enough support, to work on healing from several different kinds of harm at once. We believe that people who are or have been in the sex industries deserve resources which help you feel a lot better, and stay safer. This means that we don’t try to address addiction without paying attention to the many reasons why survivors of violence may be needing to “self-medicate”—or to find ways to numb out the pain.

It’s also really normal for survivors of repeated abuse and exploitation to feel like your story is “too crazy”, “too shocking”, “too disgusting”, or “too unbelievable”—and that healing might be possible for other abused people, but “not for me”. We believe that human beings can heal even from very, very extreme or repeated trauma or abuse—we’ve witnessed and experiencing it happening. We also believe it’s really important to make room for people’s stories.

This doesn’t mean SAGE staff aren’t affected or sometimes very sad about what we listen to—but it does mean that we’ve already heard things that most people think are “too crazy, shocking, disgusting, or unbelievable”, and have continued to believe that people who have been abused can heal, and that every survivor is really important.

One of the main things that keeps the staff at SAGE going, and feeling strong about the work we do—is our belief that healing—though hard—can also be wonderful. We’ve gotten to witness people who have been through terrible pain get to feel less awful, and then start to feel better, and then start to feel strong, and safe, and beautiful, and creative, and loved. For every one who has ever been called “trash”, or “ho”, or “bitch”—we offer the message that you too deserve to heal—deeply, and that you deserve to know that those abusive messages are and always have been lies.

For more information on CSE issues or survivor-sensitive healing modalities, visit the Information Center using the links above.

For more information about FOPP, EIPP, the STAR Center, Mental Health, or other SAGE programs and services, use the links above, or contact us at SAGE.

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