Counselling Psychology Quarterly

Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2009, 85–96

Cultural perspectives on child trafficking, human rights & social

justice: A model for psychologists
Rita Chi-Ying Chung*

Counseling & Development Program and Department of Psychology, George Mason

University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
(Received 11 December 2008; final version received 25 February 2009)

Every region in the world is affected by some form of human trafficking.

This article discusses the complex factors involved in child trafficking from
a cultural perspective. The role of the psychologist in addressing human
rights and social issues such as child trafficking is also discussed. The article
also provides recommendations on how psychologists can be proactive
advocates on human rights issues and the Multi-Level Model of
Psychotherapy, Social Justice and Human Rights (MLM) in working
with human trafficking issues on individual, community, societal and
global levels.
Keywords: child trafficking; human trafficking; human rights; social
justice; forced migration; Asian culture; Multi-Level Model of
Psychotherapy; Social Justice and Human Rights; advocacy

Introduction
An outcome of globalization is the increased movement of people either by legal or
illegal means. There has been increased media attention to human trafficking that
has exposed the clandestine nature of this type of illegal migration. Human
trafficking is not a new phenomenon; however, it has become more visible due to
globalization. Every region in the world is affected by some form of human
trafficking. Given the heightened visibility of human trafficking, the purpose of this
article is fourfold: (i) to present child trafficking within the context of human rights;
(ii) to discuss child trafficking for sex exploitation from a cultural perspective, using
Asian culture as an example; (iii) to present child trafficking as it relates to the
multiple levels of the abuses of power; and (iv) to discuss the role of psychologists in
the elimination of human rights violations and the abuses of power by presenting the
Multi-level Model of Psychotherapy, Social Justice and Human Rights (MLM) as a
suggestion on how psychologists can work in a cultural responsive proactive manner
in addressing human rights and social justice issues.
To provide a foundation for the discussion on child trafficking, culture and the
abuse of power, this paper begins with a brief summary of human trafficking for
sexual exploitation, followed by a discussion on the impact of culture on child
trafficking for commercial sex work, the abuses of power as it relates to child
trafficking, and finally a discussion on the role of psychologists. Given that

*Email: rchung@gmu.edu

ISSN 0951–5070 print/ISSN 1469–3674 online

ß 2009 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/09515070902761230
http://www.informaworld.com
86 R.C.-Y. Chung

child trafficking involves ‘‘real’’ people and to ensure that the ‘‘human face’’ of child
trafficking is not lost in this article, stories from trafficking survivors and returnees
are included. The personal stories are from my interaction in towns and villages in
Myanmar where large numbers of children and adults have migrated to another
country.

Human trafficking for sexual exploitation

There are various definitions of human trafficking by such organizations as the
United Nations, the International Organization of Migration, and the International
Labor Organization. Regardless of the definition, common elements in all the
definitions include terms such as, the use of threat, fraud, force, coercion, and
deception (Chung, 2006). Globalization has both changed and increased human
trafficking for sexual exploitation so that it is now 10 times greater than the trans-
Atlantic slave trade in 19th century (Chung, 2006). Human trafficking is a lucrative
global business generating large profits for traffickers and organized crime
syndicates which is estimated to be worth approximately $9.5 billion per year
globally (O’Neil, 2000), making it the fastest-growing source of profit for organized
criminal enterprises worldwide.
Pointedly, human trafficking for sexual exploitation is considered to be a
comparatively profitable crime since existing penalties are relatively lenient
compared to trafficking drugs and firearms (Chung, 2006). Every region of the
world is affected by some form of human trafficking. Estimates of human trafficking
vary from the International Labor Organization approximation of 12.3 million
people to an estimate by the US Department of State of between 4 to 27 million
(USDS, 2008). According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) (2006), 700,000 to 2,000,000 women and children are being trafficked
yearly worldwide which equates to approximately 2,000 to 6,000 women and children
being trafficked on a daily basis. Within Southeast Asia, over 225,000 people are
trafficked. It is estimated that in the past 30 years over 30 million women and
children in Asia have been victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation (Chung,
2006) and that 80% of trafficking victims are women and girls with up to 50% of
them being minors (USDS, 2008).
Variables associated with human trafficking are labeled as ‘‘Push and Pull
Factors’’ (Chung, 2006). Potential victims of trafficking are ‘‘pushed’’ and ‘‘pulled’’
into being trafficked mainly due to poverty. Given the degree of poverty, trafficking
victims accept fraudulent offers of foreign employment, such as, childcare or
restaurant work, only to find themselves forced into prostitution in deplorable
conditions in strange countries where they do not speak the language. They are told
that they have to pay off a phony debt of thousands of dollars and their passports
and identification papers are confiscated. ‘‘Agents’’ approach parents to buy their
daughters with the promise that they will be gainfully employed in restaurants or
bars which is complemented by parents being willing to sell their children due to
extreme poverty. Victims and their families are also ‘‘pulled’’ into trafficking. Living
in extreme poverty is one way people are ‘‘pulled’’ into deceptive offers made by
agents, and seduced into the belief and expectation that the child will be able to
support the family if they accept the proposed job. As Mahatma Gandhi stated:
‘‘Poverty is the worst form of violence’’.
 Counselling Psychology Quarterly 87

The impact of culture and child trafficking

Culture impacts human trafficking. Although this article uses Asian culture as an
example of how culture influences human trafficking, the intersection of culture and
trafficking can be generalized to other cultures, taking into consideration specific
factors for a particular culture. The core values of Asian culture emphasize family.
The concept of filial piety stresses that children are to be obedient, submissive,
respectful, and to take care of parents and self-sacrifice for the greater good of the
family (Leong et al., 2007). These cultural values create an obligation to financially
contribute to the family. In general, Asian culture is male-dominant and views boys
with higher value than girls, causing a preference for sons over daughters. As a result,
in some cases girls are seen as property, a negotiable item that can be used for trade,
sold, or bargaining (Chung, 2006).
Asian culture, similar to many other cultures, subsequently socializes children
to respect and obey parents and to contribute to the family’s well-being. This can
be seen with Asian children who were trafficked and repeatedly explained how they
put themselves at risk for the sake of economic improvement for their families.
Many of them felt it necessary to make sacrifices for the benefit of their families,
therefore living up to the cultural value of filial piety. Some of the girls who were
trafficked for commercial sex talked about their mixed reactions to their
experiences. They didn’t like what they were doing, but also felt that to not
engage in commercial sex work would disappoint their families in terms of making
a financial contribution and providing support. Some girls did not want to leave
prostitution and return home because they hadn’t saved enough money to return
without shame or embarrassment about the lack of savings to contribute or send
home. A Thai saying captures the concept of filial piety. That saying is: ‘‘Repaying
the breast milk’’.

A resulting trap
The combination of these cultural family values with the cultural response and
stigma of rape and prostitution are manipulated and used as a tool in the abuse of
power. Being raped or being a prostitute brings shame and loss of face to the girls
and their families. This creates an extremely difficult situation for Asian girls who
are removed from prostitution and forced to return to their home country or
communities. They may be disowned by family and possibly alienated and
ostracized by both family and community. This creates a situation where for some
girls there may be no option to return home and reconnect with family and
community. A Vietnamese saying described the shame and disgrace of being
raped or being a prostitute. The saying is: ‘‘Someone ate out of my bowl and left
it dirty’’.
In Myanmar (Burma), the boys in the village told me that they would never
marry any girl who has left the village to work in Thailand, knowing that there is a
high probability that these girls would have been raped, sexually abused, or worked
as prostitutes. Furthermore, tearful women in the village told me that when their
daughters leave to work in Thailand it is not a matter of ‘‘if’’ they will be raped
but ‘‘when’’. Traffickers abuse power by exploiting those living in poverty,
simultaneously manipulating and taking advantage of the filial piety family cultural
values and the cultural response to rape and prostitution.
88 R.C.-Y. Chung

Western stereotypes of Asian women and girls

Western Asian female stereotypes constitute another factor that contributes to the
abuse of power, since these stereotypes create the demand for Asian girls to be
trafficked into commercial sex work. The Western stereotypes of Asian girls and
women being subservient, obedient, hard working, submissive, passive, docile, shy,
demure, softly spoken, eager to please, and exotic, all lead to the China doll, Suzy
Wong, and geisha syndrome. These stereotypes increase the demand for Asian girls
and subsequently trafficking into the sex industry. David Henry Hwang’s play
‘‘M Butterfly’’ (1988), which is based on a true story of a French diplomat living in
China, poignantly captures the strong Western image or stereotype of Asian women.
In one scene in the play, the Asian man who was disguised as a woman called ‘‘Song’’
is asked how he managed to hide his sexual identity from his lover (a Western man)
for many years. Song responds:
. . . as soon as a Western man comes into contact with the East, he’s already confused.
The West has sort of an international rape mentality towards the East . . . . The West
thinks of itself as masculine – big guns, big industry, big money – so the East is
feminine – weak, delicate, poor, but good at art, and full of inscrutable wisdom, the
feminine mystique. Her mouth says no, but her eyes say yes. The West believes the East,
deep down, wants to be dominated, because a woman can’t think for herself . . . . . . You
expect Oriental countries to submit to your guns, and you expect Oriental women to be
submissive to your men. That’s why you say they make the best wives. (Act 3, scene 1)
These stereotypical views of Asian girls have cultivated an entire marriage
industry driven by the growing demands for Asian women mail order brides in
Western countries. The marriage industry business is housed in those countries with
higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and recruits girls coming from lower GDP
countries, with the more insidious abuse of power linked to trafficking and the sexual
exploitation of Asian girls. Furthermore, the above dialogue from ‘‘M Butterfly’’
suggests that the general Western perception or attitude towards Eastern/Asian
countries is to dominate and hence, perpetuate the misuse and abuse of power.

The role of technology and globalization in child trafficking

Technology and globalization also play a role in the abuse of power in terms of child
trafficking for commercial sex. As a result of globalization there is greater
accessibility in air travel and transportation creating a larger and more expansive
national and international network and linkage to sex tourism. Furthermore, the
advancement of the internet and worldwide web technology contributes to an
increase in trafficking into the sex industry and child pornography, resulting in
greater access and choices for commercial sex and trafficked persons. Technology
allows people to buy sex via the worldwide web and internet, allowing access to a
greater variety of sexual options and an increased demand for sexual services. The
digital divide between rich and poor regions and countries also contributes to the
abuse of power.

The role of psychology in child trafficking

In a discussion on the abuse of power as it relates to child trafficking for commercial
sex work, the field of psychology and psychosocial issues are sometimes mentioned.
 Counselling Psychology Quarterly 89

However these issues are not viewed as a major concern and are oftentimes
minimized. In fact, it is the actual abuse of power that minimizes the discussion on
the psychology and the psychosocial issues. Yet it is through social justice and
human rights that psychology and psychosocial issues are placed in the forefront as a
major factor in the discussion of the abuse of power. Therefore psychologists must
and should play a critical role in the elimination of the abuse of power and human
rights violations.
The abuses of power have consequences with short- and long-term psychological
effects on individuals, their families, and communities. Psychologists can no longer
ignore the psychological impact of the abuses of power and therefore a primary focus
of their work must be towards the elimination of abuses of power through human
rights and social justice. This can be achieved on multiple levels that incorporate
individual-community, systemic, and global levels. This section will present the
Multi-level Model of Psychotherapy, Social Justice and Human Rights (MLM)
(Bemak & Chung, 2008; Bemak, Chung & Pedersen, 2003) as an example on how
psychologists can be culturally responsive and proactive in addressing human rights
issues, such as child trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Multi-level Model of Psychotherapy, Human Rights and Social Justice (MLM)

The MLM model is a culturally responsive human rights and social justice model that
was originally established to work with refugee and migrant populations, but has
expanded to incorporate trafficked children and adults as well as other vulnerable
groups who are at high levels of mental health risk. The MLM consists of five levels:
Level 1: Mental Health Education, Level II: Psychotherapy and Counseling, Level III:
Cultural Empowerment, Level IV: Indigenous Healing Methods and Level V:
Social Justice and Human Rights. A brief description of the five levels will be
presented with an emphasis on Level V Social Justice and Human Rights.
The first level, Mental Health Education, consists of mental health education
for both the client and the psychologist. At this level, both parties explore what
happens in the therapy session, including the role of the psychologist and client,
issues of confidentiality, treatment expectations and preferences, cultural views and
attitudes on mental health, help-seeking behavior, and work with interpreters/
translators. This is a critical level where the psychologist establishes both ascribed
and achieved credibility (Sue & Zane, 1987) by demonstrating cultural respon-
siveness. It is an important phase of any psychological intervention that helps
establish the relationship and clear expectations for both the client and the
psychologist.
Level II consists of culturally responsive traditional Western psychotherapy
which includes innovative and culturally responsive forms of psychotherapy. This is
important since many individuals who need psychosocial support or psychotherapy
may not know, understand, or have accurate perceptions about what happens in a
therapeutic relationship. Thus, Level II expands mainstream Western psychotherapy
to include such techniques as narrative therapy, dreamwork, drama, art, storytelling,
and drumming. This approach is particularly important when working with
individuals and families in relationship to child trafficking issues.
Level III, Cultural Empowerment, is where psychologists educate clients and
their families about their rights and help them to acquire skills to manage the
90 R.C.-Y. Chung

geographic and psychological changes in their lives. The focus of this level is to assist
clients in gaining a mastery of new skills that lead to empowerment.
Level IV, Indigenous Healing Methods, is where the psychologist works in
collaboration with traditional indigenous healers. This is essential in incorporating
psychological healing from a culturally appropriate framework that combines rather
than competes or ignores traditional healing methodologies.
Level V, Social Justice and Human Rights, involves psychologists to be proactive
in taking a leadership role in helping clients become active to address social justice
and human rights abuses. This action is consistent with the Cultural Empowerment
described in Level III and promotes consideration and addressing human rights
violations rather than discounting them as an inconsequential aspect of mental
health. In addition to being advocates and change agents for their clients, families
and communities in relationship to promoting and supporting self advocacy,
psychologists at this level engage in advocating for social justice and human rights
violations on behalf of their clients both on an individual and systemic basis.

Psychologists’ role in human rights and social justice

This section discusses psychologists’ role in the elimination of the abuse of power as
it relates to the human rights issue of child trafficking for commercial sex. Based on
the MLM Level V, as mentioned above, it is suggested that psychologists work on
multiple levels, that is: on individual-community, systemic and global levels. These
are described as follows:

Individual-Community level
Working on the individual-community level means that psychologists work with
individuals, their families, and the communities to eliminate the abuse of power. In
this level, psychologists must work from a holistic framework that includes
acknowledging, recognizing, and understanding cultural values, beliefs and
attitudes, historical, psychopolitical, socioeconomic and environmental perspectives
and how these factors all contribute to the abuse of power. To successfully
minimize and eliminate the continued abuse of power related to vulnerable
children, such as those children who are separated, trafficked, or child soldiers, it is
critical to incorporate an approach that works directly with individuals, families,
and communities. Work needs to be done from a community-based framework to
reintegrate individual children back into their families and communities. This can
be achieved through working in collaboration with community leaders, elders, and
spiritual leaders to ensure that children are protected from exploitation and the
abuse of power.
Psychological healing must be done from a community-based approach. If
children who have been trafficked are unable to reunite with their natal families, it is
necessary to establish and reconstruct communities that include surrogate families.
The reconstruction of communities must involve local community members as key
players in order to fully understand the community and its challenges. These families
and communities are independent on state and governmental institutions and can
provide easily available information about these factors in relationship to surrogate
families. In addition, surrogate families are important stabilizing forces in that they
 Counselling Psychology Quarterly 91

provide a constant and caring relationship between children and caregivers, which
acts as a protective factor against psychological problems and vulnerability to abuse
of power. One example of this became evident when I spoke to a group of four
Burmese female survivors of trafficking. One of the girls did not want to go back
home because her parents did not know that she had been working as a sex worker.
Clearly if they found this out, she would be disowned and banned from the house
and community. There was no place for her to go, so she returned to the brothel.
This was heartbreaking for the other three girls and they all decided that they should
live together as a family rather than face the pain and disgrace of their respective
families. The situation of these girls presents an example of how surrogate families
and communities can be established to help minimize the shame, embarrassment,
and psychological problems that may plague children who want to leave commercial
sex work and go home. Forming surrogate families and communities, if developed
and supported, has the potential to provide places where these girls can be welcomed,
and where effective psychological healing can take place and social injustices and
human rights violations can be effectively addressed.

Interdisciplinary collaboration
To successfully address psychological issues as a result of child trafficking, it is
important to work across disciplines. Given the complexity and multidimensionality
of the abuse of power and child trafficking, it is impossible for psychologists to
resolve the psychological problems related to trafficking within the narrow
framework of psychology without considering other perspectives. Although the
field of psychology has an excellent grasp on the understanding of individuals,
families, and communities, in order to effectively tackle the intricacy of human rights
issues it is necessary for psychologists to work in collaboration with other disciplines.
These other disciplines include economists, international lawyers, historians,
geographers, educators, anthropologists, sociologists, and public health profes-
sionals. Given the extent and magnitude of human trafficking and other social justice
and human rights violations psychologists need to let go of an egocentric approach
and acknowledge that psychology cannot do it alone.

Collaboration of western psychology and traditional indigenous healing

methodologies
Another factor on this level in eliminating the exploitation of children and the abuse
of power is the importance of incorporating traditional indigenous healing as stated
in the MLM Level IV. Western mainstream psychologists must form partnerships
with traditional indigenous healers to work on issues such as death, burial,
mourning, and grieving. More modern-trained professionals can incorporate, in
collaboration with indigenous healers, the development and establishment of new
spiritual healing and psychological cleansing practices that address modern day
issues and problems. For example, given the cultural attitudes towards rape, a
culturally appropriate cleansing could help in the psychological healing for survivors
and potentially assist communities to become more accepting of the survivors of
trafficking within their families and communities.
A personal example was when I provided counseling with Asian girls who had
been raped in New Zealand. In the 1980s, working with Southeast Asian refugees
92 R.C.-Y. Chung

who migrated to New Zealand, it was quickly evident that many of the Vietnamese
and Cambodian girls and women had experienced multiple rapes and sexual abuse
(Chung, 2001; Chung & Okazaki, 1991). To more effectively address the
psychological pain associated with the rapes and abuse, I simultaneously worked
with a Buddhist monk to develop a cleansing ritual for the girls. The rape and sexual
abuse were extremely difficult topics to discuss given the associated cultural stigma
and shame. Some of the girls talked about not being accepted into their communities
as a result of being raped. Others talked about being ashamed and embarrassed
because their family and community members were forced to witness them being
raped. It also became clear that everyone knew about the rape and sexual abuse, but
it was a taboo subject and therefore no one discussed it. Similar to the trafficking
returnees in Myanmar, rape and sexual abuse became a community secret. While
talking about rape, the girls and women always spoke about their Buddhist beliefs.
Given their strong spiritual beliefs, I made contact with a Buddhist monk and
inquired about creating a Buddhist cleansing ritual for the rape survivors. The
cleansing ritual performed by the monks proved to be a powerful healing mechanism
not only for individuals, but also for their families and communities. Individuals,
families and community members were able to undergo atonement in a collectivistic
manner (Chung & Bemak, 2007) which was very powerful for the girls, their families,
and their communities.
Concurrently it is important to build in a concept of future and hope when
working with trafficked survivors and returnees as a protective factor in the
elimination of the abuse of power. These girls feel hopeless and helpless and do not
see themselves with a future. As we know in psychology, hope is a powerful curative
factor (Lambert, 1992).
Psychologists must also utilize advocacy skills as a tool in the elimination of the
abuse of power. Psychologists and other care-providers must find a mechanism to
provide feedback to policymakers as a means to advocate change. The work must
involve challenging and changing governmental and international policies that
impact vulnerable children. In tandem, we need to pressure multinational
organizations to develop programs to support alternative work options for gainful
employment for girls through vocational skills training and education. This is key to
reducing vulnerability and susceptibility to being trafficked.
The use of multi-media outlets is also an effective tool that psychologists can use
towards the elimination of the abuses of power, by providing a public forum to
educate the global community about the various forms of the abuse of power.
Specific to trafficking of girls into commercial sex, multimedia is a powerful tool in
changing attitudes towards girls, and dispelling and breaking Western stereotypes of
Asian girls. Multimedia can also be used as an effective tool to give voice to
trafficking survivors and returnees. Further, giving them a forum to tell their story
becomes a powerful healing mechanism.

Systemic level
Education is a key to eliminating the abuse of power. For example, in Myanmar
some of the villagers I spoke with did not know about or understand
human trafficking. Furthermore, trafficked returnees also did not realize that they
had been trafficked. Human trafficking is a difficult concept for the Burmese since
 Counselling Psychology Quarterly 93

the translation means ‘‘selling of people’’. The only way things are sold in Myanmar
is to weigh items on a scale. The villagers told me that they have never witnessed a
person being weighed and the trafficked returnees said that they were not put on a
scale to be weighed. Therefore they did not think that they were sold and were not
victims of human trafficking. In fact, the villagers laughed at the idea of people being
sold. Educating community members about what is human trafficking is a critical
key in the prevention and intervention of human trafficking.
In addition to educating communities about human trafficking, education must
also be made available to multiple stakeholders including policy makers, social
services, health and mental services, legal and law enforcement, and immigration
personnel. For example, for some legal and immigration agencies, lack of
understanding of the definition of trafficking makes systematic enforcement and
implementation of the policies difficult. Laws and policies on human trafficking need
to be more clearly defined and not treated as a problem of illegal migration or
prostitution.
Psychologists also need to be involved in establishing culturally responsive
support and services for trafficking survivors both in the country they are residing in
and in their home countries. Survivors may remain silent due to the fear of being
punished or abused by the traffickers. Survivors may also fear being punished for
having left the country illegally or fear being labeled as a prostitute on their return.
Transported with or without false documentation make trafficked survivors stateless
people who may be subjected to arrest and deportation on charges of overstaying.
They also may become a pawn in a struggle between the authorities and the
traffickers. For example, Burmese girls who were rescued from prostitution due to a
police raid on a brothel in Thailand spoke about being detained for over six months
due to the Thai authorities requiring the girls to testify against the traffickers.
The Thai authorities were concerned that if they let the girls go home to Myanmar
it would be difficult to find the girls if and when they needed the girls for the
upcoming court cases. Therefore, psychologists can collaborate with law enforce-
ment in providing culturally sensitive education about how to handle trafficking
survivors.
As mentioned above, the penalties for human trafficking are lenient compared to
the trafficking of drugs or guns. Psychologists must therefore advocate for tougher
penalties for traffickers. Psychologists can assist with advocating for trafficking
penalties that are addressed within the framework of collaborative policies and law
enforcement across national and international borders.

Global level
Although raising awareness of child trafficking issues in psychologists’ home
countries is important, human trafficking affects all regions, states and countries
worldwide. Therefore, it is important to go beyond one’s own country and
community and attempt to impact a broader spectrum that includes both sending
and recipient countries. Thus, raising global awareness about child trafficking
through education can prevent and intervene in child trafficking. The elimination of
the abuse of power as it relates to child trafficking calls for psychologists to
proactively speak out about the role and responsibility that both sending and
receiving countries play in trafficking. Human trafficking issues have focused mainly
94 R.C.-Y. Chung

on prevention of trafficking of victim, protection, and assistance to trafficked

person, rather than the traffickers and the issue that demand for trafficked girls
exists. More focus must be on the demand and supply factors associated with
trafficking. Furthermore, too often the international arena focuses on sanctions on
the sending country, that is, those countries that already have a lower GDP, without
focusing on the receiving and destination countries or those countries with higher
GDPs. This results in economic disparities and the abuse of power by rich nations to
poor nations.
Advocacy requires responses on national and international levels that focus
especially on trafficking for commercial sex. National and international laws have
not focused specifically on trafficking for commercial sex compared to illegal labor
or domestic work. Furthermore, current laws tend to be punitive rather than
protective, and have focused on a few high profile cases such as the illegal network
for baby adoptions. Psychologists can be involved in educating agencies about
protective approaches with trafficking survivors, rather than stand by, and by
inaction allow the continuation of punitive approaches.

Psychologist know thy self

This paper has focused on psychologists working from a social justice, human rights
and culturally responsive framework. To achieve this, psychologists must also
recognize their own countertransference, especially as this relates to human rights
and social justice issues. Although psychologists are trained about – and may be
aware of – intrapsychic countertransference, when working in the area of human
rights, psychologists can also encounter political countertransference (Chung, 2005;
Chung, Bemak, Ortiz & Sandoval-Perez, 2008). Political countertransference differs
from psychological countertransference in that the source of the countertransfer-
ential reactions is dissimilar. The news and media have a powerful effect in forming
individual’s knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of specific human rights
issues. Psychologists must be aware of how media messages are transmitted to
individuals directly and indirectly, as well as subliminally. Psychologists consciously
and unconsciously internalize values and beliefs that are presented through the
media which may result in negative reactions to various human rights issues. Hence,
it is critical that psychologists have insight and awareness about their own political
biases and reactions to politicized social justice and human rights issues in order to
adequately address their political countertransference when working with such
clients.

Conclusion
Although the focus of this paper has been on Asian culture and child trafficking for
commercial sex, the abuse of power can be generalized to any culture and to any
human rights violation. Given the psychological impact of the abuses of power and
human rights violations, it is critical that psychologists play a key role in the
elimination of abuse of power. Psychologists can be successful in the elimination of
the abuse of power and of human rights violations through being culturally
responsive and proactive in addressing these issues through a social justice and
human rights community-based framework and using culturally responsive human
 Counselling Psychology Quarterly 95

rights intervention models such as the MLM. Psychologists need to acknowledge

that they can play a critical role in human rights issues and that they can be effective
in addressing these issues from individual-community, systemic, and global
perspectives.

Acknowledgements
This article is based on a presentation on United Nations Psychology Day in New York on
19 November 2008. The presentation was part of a panel that was titled: Psychological
Perspectives on the Abuse of Power.
Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is
responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

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