What’s in a word?

We have a lot of “word nerds” in our FTG world. It’s not uncommon for conversations to veer off into implications of using one word over another and choosing our verbiage with intention. This isn’t just a fun, albeit geeky, practice; survivors have told us time and time again that the words that counter-trafficking organizations use matter.

When our board and staff recently came together (read more about that here), we ended up having a lengthy conversation around the word reintegration. Is it really the goal to reintegrate a person who has been trafficked due to their marginalization or living on the fringes to their original situation? Reintegrate into poverty and isolation? Or is a better word integrate, suggesting something new where they are able to move and exist within the appropriate social structures of their local communities and society?

We have historically used the word reintegrate, mainly because it’s a recognized word in the counter-trafficking space as a part of the 3 Rs - rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Yet the term rescue is also problematic in many situations, not the least of which because 41% of detected trafficking victims are the ones who take initial action, not law enforcement or nonprofits and the term “rescue” removes all agency from these survivors. So maybe it is time to review our usage of the word reintegration as well.

Transparently, we have not officially landed on using one term over the other, but that’s just some BTS for the conversations we are having internally. It’s more than just semantics because, as we’ve mentioned before, the process takes a while. In fact, integrating a person into the social spaces they haven’t previously been able to maneuver may have a longer timeframe than reintegrating, helping a person return to a space she had previously inhabited. And we are committed to helping alleviate the situations, namely poverty and isolation, that left people vulnerable to exploitation in the first place.

What do you think? Reintegrate? Integrate? Another word entirely? As we spend this year defining our terms, it makes sense that these types of conversations arise. And we’d love for you to join into this dialogue. Comment or email us your thoughts! We’re all in this together, after all.

References
UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons