On the Front Lines of Exploitation: Unseen Trauma and Essential Care for Those Who Fight Human Trafficking, OSAEC, and Forced Labor

 Championing Frontline Wellness: A Successful 2025 Mental Health & Vicarious Trauma Debriefing and Retreat (Nov 18–20, 2025 Manila–San Pablo Laguna)

I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to conduct the Mental Health and Vicarious Trauma Awareness and Debriefing Retreat for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Task-Force Against Trafficking (NAIATFAT) Prosecutors, Intelligence Agents, and Partner Agencies—a remarkable group of professionals on the frontlines of protecting Filipino workers from forced labor, human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and other forms of exploitation.

This retreat brought together key personnel from law enforcement, immigration, intelligence, prosecution, social services, and partner sectors—individuals who tirelessly investigate, rescue, and safeguard Filipinos deceived into working abroad. Many of these workers unknowingly fall victim to trafficking and forced labor themselves. While some participants also work on cases involving OSAEC, this event primarily highlighted the urgent and growing challenge of illegal recruitment and labor trafficking, an issue affecting countless Filipino families today.

I extend my deepest appreciation to NAIATFAT leadership, including SASP Chief Jingky Dedumo, team members, and partner agencies, whose foresight and compassion made this retreat possible. Their initiative to invest in the mental health of their people is a strong affirmation that those who protect others also deserve protection, care, and healing.

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Why I Do This Work: My Story as a National Expert in the Prevention and Mitigation of Vicarious Trauma, Secondary Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue, and Moral Injury

For the past twenty years, I have been privileged to work closely with survivors of human trafficking—whether through the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), sexual exploitation, and forced labor—across the Philippines. During these years also, my husband Rick and his team of teachers extended their educational expertise by providing homeschooling programs in shelters for victims of human trafficking, helping children return to school, learn to read and count, and rebuild the academic competence needed to regain control of their lives.

My work centers on developing evidence-informed, culturally grounded, survivor-centered interventions that honor both the depth of trauma and the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.

My Chance to Impact Family Intervention in the Court of the Philippines

In 2015, I developed the Reconciliatory Meeting, a pioneering family-therapy intervention now recognized in Philippine courts. I created this intervention for rare, delicate situations where reconciliation becomes the only option to save a devastated life and offer a second chance to a truly repentant offender. 

This structured process was first used in an OSAEC case involving a young victim who longed to forgive her mother, the same mother who had sold her into exploitation but had since shown genuine remorse and a willingness to take responsibility for her crime. The intervention creates clarity around the offense, establishes accountability, allows space for sincere apology and empowered forgiveness, and strengthens healthy boundaries while reshaping family dynamics so that healing, protection, and meaningful change can truly begin.

See more info about this Reconliatory Meeting tool - a legacy I have been privileged to author for my country and trained people to facilitate this intervention in the court. Thank you, International Justice Mission - Philippines, for your amazing work of justice, and more power to your very passionate and dedicated staff  https://www.ijm.org.ph/articles/trauma-informed-courts-dramatically-improve-justice-outcomes-and-survivor-wellbeing

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Answering Another Calling: Caring for the Hidden Victims—Frontline Workers Fighting Human Trafficking

As I walked alongside survivors through their healing, I began to notice another group quietly carrying immense burdens—the very people who rescued, investigated, advocated, and protected them. Behind their strength and passion were sleepless nights, intrusive memories, and hearts slowly worn down by the suffering they witnessed every day. Many didn’t have words for what they were experiencing: vicarious trauma, PTSD, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral injury.

In 2017, an international justice organization approached me with a request that felt less like an assignment and more like a calling: to become their National Trauma Specialist and provide care for the caregivers. What began as staff support for one organization expanded into shelters and multi-disciplinary teams across the Philippines. I met administrators, house parents, police officers, prosecutors, psychologists, social workers, and online investigators who had silently endured trauma, believing their struggles were personal failures rather than the natural cost of bearing witness to humanity’s darkest wounds.

This was the moment I realized: healing survivors also means healing those who stand between them and harm.

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I Discovered How Moral Injury Deepens Frontline Workers’ Struggles (2019)

In 2019, my research revealed a critical and often-overlooked truth: moral injury—the deep psychological distress that occurs when one’s actions or inactions conflict with deeply held moral values—was a significant complicating factor for both survivors and frontline professionals. This insight transformed my understanding of trauma care, showing that healing must extend beyond individuals to the organizations, systems, and teams that shape their work.

Bringing together in a Debriefing and Retreat the multi-disciplinary teams and local agencies working on the same cases can greatly enhance cohesion, restore collaboration, improve communication, align vision and mission, and foster higher levels of cooperation—creating a stronger, more coordinated response for vulnerable victims of human trafficking.

Retreats like this are essential for restoring resilience, renewing hope, and rebuilding vision. By providing structured spaces for reflection, debriefing, and reconnection, we can mitigate trauma, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and moral injury, while strengthening the collaborative networks that protect and serve survivors.

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A New Innovation: The Trauma-Informed Spiritual Resilience Retreat (2025)

While I have long provided individual mental health check-ins, group and team debriefs, and organizational staff-care programs, 2025 marked the launch of a groundbreaking intervention: the Trauma-Informed Spiritual Resilience Retreat.

Unlike traditional programs, this retreat works with multi-disciplinary teams and government agencies, fostering cohesiveness, enhancing communication, and deepening understanding of how their work impacts not only their mental health but also their ability to collaborate effectively.

This integrative model combines:

• The psychology of trauma, vicarious trauma, and mental health challenges
• Neurobiology of stress
• Stress management techniques
• Compassion fatigue and burnout prevention
• Moral injury repair through restorative spiritual practices
• Group-based reflective processing

The retreat is specifically designed to mitigate the effects of chronic trauma exposure, compassion fatigue, and burnout, while strengthening resilience to help frontline workers remain grounded, effective, and united—especially those managing complex cases of illegal recruitment, forced labor, and human trafficking.

Suppose you are seeking an evidence-informed, team-centered approach that restores both individual well-being and organizational cohesion. In that case, I am offering an innovative retreat that represents a unique opportunity to support those who bear the weight of protecting society’s most vulnerable.

💌 IF YOUR ORGANIZATION NEEDS THIS:

Just send me a personal message on Messenger Jiji Harner

Here is more information about my services: https://safeguardmentalhealth.org/

My Gratitude and Hope:

I am deeply grateful to the leaders who made this possible - SASP Chief Jingky Dedumo and her NAIATFAT Team for inviting other partners to be part of this Mental Health Awareness and Debriefing - Retreat. Their commitment to caring for their people reflects a powerful truth: Frontline workers are not just implementers of justice—they are human beings whose well-being determines the quality and sustainability of our nation’s fight against exploitation.

May this retreat be the beginning of more initiatives that protect the protectors and amplify awareness about the thousands of Filipinos vulnerable to illegal recruitment, forced labor, and trafficking.

I am so grateful to my team Jenny Ozaraga and Noelli Amancio for your support in making this retreat a very memorable event for everyone. 

Thanks all your help. 

Trauma After Typhoon Tino: Recovery for the Devasted Hearts, Minds, and Bodies - and Resources Available for your Children

By God’s grace, my family is safe. Day -2 Thank God, We just got our electricity back. 🙏

Our hearts, however, are heavy with grief for those who have lost loved ones, pets, livelihoods, homes, church buildings, vehicles, and entire communities. The devastation brought by Typhoon Tino is beyond what words, photos, or videos can capture. What we are witnessing is not just a natural disaster, but also human negligence and corruption which have deeply deepened the suffering of those who have survived the collateral damage flash flood. Accountability is needed.

The Impact Reaches Every Part of Life:

1. Physical: hunger, loss of shelter, illness, infections, and the rising death toll.
2. Financial: loss of livelihood and property, with debts and loans still to pay, and other unrecoverable and irreplaceable loss. 
3. Emotional: anger, grief, despair, fear, and anxiety ripple through families and communities. 
4. Psychological: distress, trauma, the rhythm of life and sense of safety are gone; many feel disoriented and deeply vulnerable.
5. Social/Relational: neighborhoods have been washed away, connections disrupted, and communities displaced.
6. Schools destroyed/Academic Performance: The children is the major group who will be suffering from the long-term impact of this catastrophe, physically, emotionally, and academically. They will be struggling to concentrate and their ability to stay focused and absorb what they are learning will be affected. But this trauma impact can be lessen by caring parents, adults, and teachers. It is important to create learning structures to create some form of normalcy and continue to engage the children academically. Children can bunch back. Be proactive. 
7. Be watchful - many of them will turn to unhealthy coping behaviors and vices to numb the internal struggle that they cannot verbalize and are unable to describe. Bring them to community help and any place that can provide their academic and social needs. The G1:27 Tutoring Team Offers Free Academic Tutoring for students' needs from K-12 to the Tutoring Center is located a Purok 7, Nangka Consolacion and it is Open from Monday - Thursday from 6PM to 8PM. NO PAY NEEDED - Parents and caring adults invest your time to the healing and recovery of the children and be patient - go with them to show your support.

🌿As a trauma specialist, I want to gently remind everyone struggling:
If you are grieving or traumatized:

1. Acknowledge your feelings—don’t rush healing.
2. Rest when you can; your body and mind are trying to recover.
3. Stay connected—reach out to loved ones, faith communities, or support groups.
4. Avoid numbing your pain with substances or overwork; these bring temporary relief but deepen long-term suffering.

 If you feel hopeless or lost, seek help. Healing is possible, even if it takes time.

 💌 THERE IS HELP AVAILABLE:

When you are ready for a session with me

just send me a personal message on Messenger Jiji Harner

Here is more information about my services: https://safeguardmentalhealth.org/

Trauma Symptoms:

•  Recovery is not only about rebuilding homes—it’s about healing hearts, minds, and bodies. The body carries what the eyes cannot see and the heart cannot speak.
•  Remember, fear, flashbacks, startled response, nightmares, grief, anger, doubts about your faith, depressed, anxious, and discouraged - these are normal reactions to abnormal events

 Here’s What You Can Do:

1. Extra patience and understand that when you are overwhelmed little things can turn into big conflict.
2. Ensure food and rest is provide safety is a basic need.
3. Structure your daily activities to create order in you and your children can focus and continue learning, growing, and engaging with life's challenges.
4. Do physical activities with your kids. Allow them to work alongside you.
5. Supervise your kids screen time, sign them up with online academic resources like Khan Academy, Duolingo, and Purpose Games – my husband Rick Harner https://www.purposegames.com/group/g127/intro, created a thousand plus of online academic resources at your child’s grade level for free for all grade levels K-12. There are more creative ways your kids can learn to address their academic (reading comprehension/math) needs.
6. Engage them emotionally by talking about how they feel and what they think. Secure them, provide comfort and encouragement by showing them how to face challenges and embrace grief and loss, and find help and comfort - from friends, families, meaningful physical activities, fellowships, and prayer

Strengthen your spirituality - because amid this immense suffering, faith, gratitude, and hope in God are our best anchors. They are not just religious and naïve comforts, but protective factors that buffer us from further trauma and help us endure, heal, and recover from anything we are facing in life.

 To those directly affected: your pain is valid, your exhaustion is understood. Healing will take time, but you are not alone.

To those spared: let us not look away. Compassion, advocacy, and accountability are our shared responsibilities.

May God’s mercy sustain us all as we move toward recovery, justice, and collective healing. 💛🙏