4 September 2015 past I had the honor of attending the premiere of the documentary “new girls 24 hours”, (@girlsnew24h) directed and co-produced by Mabel Lozano (@LozanoMabel). From Spiral Consulting Children, of which I have been a founding member since 2009, we have been working on prevention for years, detection and intervention in cases of treats children's, girls and adolescents for the purpose of sexual exploitation. so i wrote this blog in which I explain why I consider it to be a documentary shocking, uncomfortable and essential.

WalkFree.org, entity that fights against all types of modern slavery, has released this image to raise awareness today 23 September against sexual exploitation.

And I was left with the feeling of having more to say, somehow. Today, 23 of September, is he “International Day Against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Women, Girls and boys” (The, rather technically, “against sexual exploitation and human trafficking”). So today may be a good day to make a second comment..

The weeks after seeing the documentary I was left with the special feeling. I became aware of all the possibilities offered by the Focusing and the Nonviolent Communication to help all people who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation, be women or men, girls or boys, the teenagers. Evidently, reparation for sexual exploitation is very complex and requires extensive social resources, and within psychosocial resources and therapy, you need a large availability of tools. What I offer here is a specific reflection of the contributions of these two processes that I know and that serve me to accompany people who have suffered some type of violence, especially sexual violence.

Focusing, which is a process of gentle listening to bodily felt sensations, It is a very powerful tool so that the person who has suffered sexual exploitation can recompose the relationship with their body. That body that has suffered so much damage and humiliation may have ways of expressing its pain that are harmful, both in the impulsive responses and in their blockages as well as in the relationships that it establishes. Focusing, with his “go step by step, to the rhythm that the body wants to show”, allows emotions to find a healthier way of expressing themselves and to gradually heal. At the same time, the person can recover their experience of the body “from inside”, little by little overcoming the barriers and dissociations that his body built in order to survive. You can read more about how I understand Focusing, and seeing some of the entries about Focusing that I have published in this blog.

On the other hand, the Nonviolent Communication It seems to me an enormously powerful tool for the person to recover the word. Person (woman or man, girl or boy), who has been denied the right to assert their opinion, to decide on your life, about his body and about his affectivity, can find support in two processes. On the one hand, Nonviolent Communication can accompany you in the way you narrate your story to yourself, to reformulate your life. This way you can prepare the necessary duels, and making decisions in a conscious and empowered way. On the other hand, Nonviolent Communication is also very useful in the field of relationships, and can help the person to communicate more authentically and assertively, and at the same time more respectful with herself and with other people. In this way you can empower yourself to reweave, with awareness, his network of affections. You can expand this information by reading about my understanding of Nonviolent Communication and some entries about CNV from this blog.

My memory goes to all the people who suffer sexual exploitation, and to those who work for their liberation and healing.

And my offer also goes to accompany in the repair of these processes, from the psychological accompaniment and the psychotherapy (en Madrid, for now).

With hope and awareness,

Xavier