From Victim to Victor through the Transformative Power of Stories: How Survivors Make Sense of Human-Trafficking Experiences

In the aftermath of human trafficking, survivors try to make sense of what has happened to them. In this article, I combine feminist standpoint theory with narrative victimology to put forward the term "situated storytelling." I argue that "situated storytelling" can contribute to trafficking survivors' attempts to make sense of their experiences. I make this argument based on a narrative thematic analysis of five interviews with human-trafficking survivors and using Brison's (2019) categorization of the self as embodied, narrative, and autonomous. The findings indicate that (1) physical coping strategies can restore us; (2) narratives about the past give meaning to the present; and (3) relationships with others can be transformative. By countering the image of the vulnerable, passive, and weak victim, this article hopes to influence practice, policy, and future research. This article will highlight how survivors individually can turn this perceived vulnerability into agency through the transformative power of storytelling, offering the potential to restore their embodied, narrative, and autonomous selves.