Aug 30, 2014
Raj Persaud in conversation with Dr Chris Cantor on the psychology of modern day slavery
Three women rescued from horrific conditions after allegedly being held as slaves for 30 years, are described by the Metropolitan Police’s human trafficking unit as ‘highly traumatised’.
What these women must have gone through may appear unimaginable, but psychiatrists refer to this as ‘traumatic entrapment’, defined as repeated trauma arising from a state of captivity, where the victim is unable to flee, under the prolonged and complete control of a perpetrator.
Only through understanding the peculiar psychology of ‘traumatic entrapment’ can the mystery of how victims can be captive for so long in the middle of a modern city be unravelled.
Chris Cantor and John Price, psychiatrists based in Australia and the UK have published an investigation into the phenomenon, arguing the key to the enigma is an ‘appeasement’ reaction. This is hard wired into our genes and biology, and kicks in during these kinds of extraordinary circumstances. This peculiar and counterintuitive appeasement reaction, fundamentally contributes to survival.
For an article on this see here: