On November 16, my social justice group and I interviewed an Assistant District Attorney who deals with sexual trafficking and abuse. Her name is Michelle Kaminsky. We were able to interview about her work with cases involving sexual abuse and how it causes body image problems for girls and women. We also got a tour of the offices of various social workers and lawyers who deal with sexual abuse. We saw rooms where social workers would meet with people who were abused, and a child care room where victim of sexual trafficking could drop their children off if they needed to meet with an attorney. The initial goal for my group’s first field visit was to interview Michelle Kaminsky about how sexual abuse is linked to body image. But as the interview went on we focused a lot on how women have to deal with abuse from their boyfriend or husband and the process they go through in the legal system.
I learned many things about sexual trafficking and abuse. One fact that stuck with me was how complex an abusive relationship can be. Many times the reason why a woman stays with her abusive boyfriend or husband is because they tell her that no one else will love them because they are so fat and/or ugly. This makes a women think that they are not good enough and they need to stay in their abusive relationship.
When my group and I were signing in at the front desk at Michelle Kaminsky office I overheard a woman reporting that her husband was abusing her. I found it crazy that while we were waiting for Michelle Kaminsky we were sitting next to people who were abused. Everyone was so calm. After the interview was over I came up with some question about sexual trafficking. One of them was, what is a social worker’s process with working with people who are abused? How does being sexually abused or abused in general affect someone’s life? Something that stuck with me about interviewing Michelle Kaminsky was when she explained to us how at age sixteen many teenagers are abused by their boyfriends. These teenagers are only in high school! This fact really motivated my group to focus more in sexual trafficking and abuse. Our group is hopefully going to be able to go to a hearing in a court that deals with a sexually abuse. Also, hopefully we will be able to interview a judge who deals with cases of abuse. My social justice group worked amazingly together. We helped each other out if we were having trouble getting our thoughts out and we all listened to each other. It was a great experience. Another idea I really want to remember for the Teach-In is the process in which a abusive relation can go.
