By Maddison Mitchell and Cristal Velasquez Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month (SAAMP) As April unfolds, conversations around growth, renewal, and new beginnings naturally come to the forefront. Yet, alongside these themes, this month also calls us to acknowledge realities that are often left unspoken. Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month invites us to notContinue reading “From Awareness to Action: Addressing Sexual Violence in April and Beyond”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Self-Harm Awareness for Trauma Survivors, Including Sex-Trafficking Survivors
By Viviana Sanchez What is self-harm? Self-harm is a misunderstood phenomenon that is heavily prevalent in adolescents and young adults, with an estimated lifetime incidence of 16.9% (Gillies et al., 2018). The numbers increase significantly for victims of sex trafficking, where rates of self-harm have been reported as high as 33% (Borschmann et al., 2017).Continue reading “Self-Harm Awareness for Trauma Survivors, Including Sex-Trafficking Survivors”
Passion for Advocacy through Research
When COVID hit, I unexpectedly had time to reexamine my career path, and the opportunity to ask myself what I was passionate about. I knew I had always been driven to advocate for others, so I began working as a victim advocate in 2021, supporting survivors of sexual assault and potential or confirmed child exploitation.Continue reading “Passion for Advocacy through Research”
Growing Through Advocacy
Presenting a poster at a professional counseling conference is a valuable opportunity to engage in scholarly dialogue, and professional development. This year, the social media committee of the Counselors Against Sex Trafficking (CAST) Research Lab had the opportunity to present a poster titled, “Become Through Advocacy: An Exploration of How CAST-RL Shapes Professional Development andContinue reading “Growing Through Advocacy”
Meet the Researcher – Elaine
At the Counselors Against Sex Trafficking Research Lab, one of our primary missions is to mentor and educate the next generation of counselors, counselor educators, and researchers. Elaine is a doctoral Research Assistant in the research lab. Learn more about her and her journey into research at the vlog below. “I really do feel likeContinue reading “Meet the Researcher – Elaine”
Counselors Against Sex Trafficking 