Human trafficking: neurons & morons | Kirby Reutter | TEDxPurdueU

Human trafficking is a grave violation to human rights. Kirby's talk explores the psychological impacts on human trafficking victims. He also dives into the physical changes that occur in the brain of these victims and snowballing implications they may have. A bilingual psychologist who specializes in working with traumatized youth, immigrant populations, and survivors of sexual abuse/human trafficking, Dr. Reutter has spoken widely across the continent. He was most recently invited to speak at the European Conference on Religion, Spirituality, and Health in the UK.

Correction: At 14:09 on the video Dr. Reutter states a statistic about internet traffic. The statement is that "75% of all internet searches..." when it should be 25%.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Good afternoon.

I would like to introduce Sofia.

Sofia's mother was a prostitute in Mexico.

Sofia's father was and still is
right here in the state of Indiana.

When Sofia was 10 years old,

she was coerced
into adoption by her father -

the same father, by the way,

who then proceeded
to raise her as a prostitute.

Sofia's father was also
the member of a gang

that directly facilitated
the trafficking of his own daughter.

In addition to being raised
as a prostitute in her own house,

Sofia was also forced to live,
for days at a time, in a storage shed,

where adult men
had unlimited access to her.

Sometimes Sofia's services
were exchanged for motorcycle parts.

After years of daily,
chronic, sexual abuse,

Sofia was finally impregnated
by her own father

by the age of thirteen.

The same father, by the way,

who then proceeded
to violently abort the baby himself.

To this day, Sofia's father is a free man
here in the state of Indiana.

He was never charged;
he was never prosecuted for his actions.

But my question for us here today is,

Did all of these events
which transpired in Sofia's childhood

affect the way
in which her brain developed?

The answer is, "Absolutely."

How so?

In this talk,

I would like to briefly introduce
five basic themes of brain development.

The first theme

is that the brain develops
in a very specific order.

The second theme

is that each stage of brain development
affects the next stage.

The third theme

is that the brain also processes
all incoming information

in the same exact order
as the brain originally developed.

The fourth theme

is that the brain tends to focus
more on unfinished business

than finished business.

But the fifth theme, thank God,

is that the brain is not set in stone.

So how does all this apply to Sofia?

We'll start off talking about the order
in which the brain develops.

The first part of the brain
to develop is the survival brain.

The second part is the emotion brain,

followed by the attachment brain,

and then, finally, the cognition brain.

Let's take a look at each of these
four stages of brain development

in a little more detail.

So as I mentioned,

the first part of the brain to develop
is the survival brain.

So this is the part of the brain

that drives everything we do
automatically,

such as circulation,
digestion, respiration -

including our three-pronged response
to danger or crisis,

which we all know to be
fight, flight and freeze.

Now, in the case
of non-traumatized children,

who, by definition, are rarely exposed
to danger or crisis,

they have the luxury

of developing relatively stable,
or contained, survival brains.

However, even when
their survival brains are triggered,

they still have the additional luxury
of a nurturing caregiver

that can help them co-regulate
that survival brain

until it returns to a more calm
and stable baseline.

But that is not
how Sofia's brain developed.

Since Sofia was constantly exposed
to danger and crisis,

her survival brain never got a break.

Since her survival brain was overworked,
it also overdeveloped,

including and especially
fight, flight and freeze,

which, as we will see,

will have a ripple effect
on the rest of her brain development.

Because the next part of the brain
to develop is the emotion brain.

This is the part of the brain

that interprets messages
from the survival brain

and then communicates
that information to the rest of the brain.

In the case of non-traumatized children,

who, as you recall, have the luxury
of a relatively stable survival brain,

it's precisely that stability
which then allows them the opportunity

to develop a full spectrum
of both positive and negative emotions,

all of which they will need
later on in life.

But that is not
how Sofia's brain developed.

Since Sofia did not have
a stable survival brain,

she actually learned

that she didn't have a huge need
for positive emotions.

Why not?

Because you don't need positive emotions
to execute fight, flight and freeze.

In fact, if anything, Sofia learned
that positive emotions were bad.

For example, if I love daddy

but then daddy treats me
in these horrific ways,

then maybe it's not
such a good idea to love someone.

However, Sofia did need
plenty of negative emotions

in order to survive her childhood.

But especially, two in a particular:

fear and anger.

Why is that?

Because you do need fear and anger

to execute fight, flight and freeze,

which, again, will have a ripple effect
on the rest of her brain development,

because the next part to develop
is the attachment brain.

This is the part of the brain

that learns to bond, connect
and relate to other people.

But how in the world do you bond
with a father that rapes you?

Or how do you connect
with a father that impregnates you?

Or how do you relate to a father

that then kills the baby
that's inside of you?

So not surprisingly,

Sofia's attachment brain
underdeveloped.

Now, in the case
of non-traumatized children,

who, as you recall,

have the full spectrum of both positive
and negative emotions to work with,

they have the emotional tools they need

to learn to bond
and connect with other people

and therefore, find security
and satisfaction in relationships.

Once again, that is not
how Sofia's brain developed.

Since Sofia only had fear and anger
to work with as her main emotions,

she simply did not have
the emotional tools she needed

to bond and connect with other people.

And therefore, Sofia learned to develop
two opposing tendencies.

On one hand,

in order to overcompensate
for that underdeveloped attachment brain,

Sofia learned to over-rely
on other people,

in other words, become too needy
and too clingy and too dependent.

On the other hand,

Sofia also learned to become
belligerent and hostile

and sometimes even burn bridges
that she could not always afford to burn.

Why is that?

Because fight and flight
from the survival brain

was triggering fear and anger
in the emotion brain,

all of which is now spilling out
onto the attachment brain,

which, once again,

will have a ripple effect
on the rest of her brain development.

Because the next and final
part of the brain to develop

is the cognition brain.

This is the part of the brain

which based on all previous
life experiences

learns to form beliefs about the self
and others in the world.

This is also the part of the brain

that learns to make decisions

based on factors such as pros and cons,

cause and effect, short-term vs long-term.

Now, in the case
of non-traumatized children,

based on their life experiences,

they learn to develop relatively positive

or, at the very least, balanced views

of themselves and others in the world,

in conjunction with
balanced decision-making -

decision-making that factors in
both present and future consequences.

That is not how Sofia's brain developed.

Based on her life experiences,

Sofia learned to despise herself.

She learned to distrust others.

She learned to disdain a world

that could have allowed these atrocities
to happen in the first place,

not to mention a world that did not
and has not held her father accountable.

In addition, Sofia also learned

to develop a really impulsive
and reactive decision-making style.

Why is that?

Because that is precisely
the sort of decision-making

she needed in order
to survive her childhood.

Sofia simply didn't have the luxury

to sit around and ponder a future
that might end today.

So not surprisingly,
what we see in traumatized children

is that negative beliefs
tend to overdevelop

while decision-making underdevelops.

Let's summarize some key points
we have made so far today.

So far in this talk, we have seen
that in traumatized children,

the survival brain overdevelops -

and especially fight, flight and freeze -

which in turn causes
positive emotions to underdevelop

while negative emotions overdevelop -

and especially fear and anger -

which in turn causes
the attachment brain to underdevelop,

which in turn causes negative beliefs

about the self, others
and the world to overdevelop

while decision-making underdevelops.

In case, you don't believe
this brain stuff,

let's take a look at a scan
of two different brains.

On the left, you see a healthy brain;

on the right, you see an abused brain.

Red indicates increased
neurological activity.

Black indicates almost
no activity at all.

What do you see at the back
of the abused brain?

Do you see all that red?

That's the part of the brain
that drives survival functions

like fight, flight and freeze.

Do you see all the black
in the abused brain?

That's the part of the brain
that is supposed to regulate emotions.

What about the front of the abused brain
compared to the healthy brain?

You see all the red that's missing?

That is the part of the brain
that is supposed to make decisions.

Do not tell me
that chronic abuse and neglect

does not affect the way
in which our brain develops.

But the tragedy of a traumatized brain
doesn't even end there.

Because not only does the brain develop
in a very specific order,

but the brain also processes
all incoming information

in that same exact order.

What does that mean for Sofia?

What does that mean
when Sofia's presented

with neutral or even,
say, positive information.

What do you think happens
to that information

by the time it filters
through fight, flight and freeze?

Followed by fear and anger?

Followed by negative beliefs
about self, others and the world?

Is that information still
so neutral or positive anymore?

No, it is not!

That information is now
skewed or distorted.

And that's one of the reasons
why Sofia to this day

is so easily triggered by events

which other people
would not consider to be triggering.

So what do you think happens

when Sofia's presented
with negative information?

To be honest, sometimes
negative information

doesn't even make it
out of the survival brain.

Why is that?

That's because when Sofia was a child,

she could not fight back,

and she could not escape
the torture she was experiencing.

In fact, if she tried
to escape or fight back,

it only would have gotten worse.

So that's why Sofia learned to freeze

and then escape in her own mind.

That's the process
we refer to as dissociation.

Sometimes, to this day,
when Sofia is sufficiently triggered,

she will blackout for hours at a time,

have no recollection what happened,

sometimes even end up in strange places

and have no clue how she got there.

Another theme of brain development
that I'd like to introduce here

is what psychologists
refer to as the Zeigarnic Effect.

Now in my own paraphrase,
the Zeigarnic Effect basically means

that the brain tends to focus more
on unfinished business

than finished business.

For those of you
that are college students,

think of the last time
you took a big exam.

What did you agonize about the most?

The 45 questions you nailed

or the five that you weren't
so sure about?

The five you weren't so sure about.

Or think of the last time
you fired off five urgent text messages.

What did you obsess about the most?

The four that were answered
or the one that was not?

Probably the one that was not.

That's the Zeigarnic Effect.

So how does this apply to Sofia?

Well basically,

sometimes in life, events happen
that are so atrocious and so horrific

that the brain simply
can not compute what happened.

That means the brain
can not process the information,

the brain can not integrate
the information:

the brain cannot close the loop.

And when that happens,
where does the brain focus more on?

You got it: unfinished business.

And that explains why to this day,

Sofia sometimes
has flashbacks and nightmares

of events that happened ten years ago.

Now, if the best
of brain science stopped here,

I think I'd be the first
to hang up my hat as a psychologist

and turn over my license.

But the good news
is the brain is not set in stone.

On the contrary,

the brain has the capacity
to learn, grow and heal

throughout the life span.

Not surprisingly, different scientists
have different terms for this phenomenon.

Some scientists refer
to the plasticity of the brain.

Other scientists
use the term malleability.

My own personally favorite term
of all is post-traumatic growth.

Now, post-traumatic growth basically means

that not only does the brain
have the capacity to heal from trauma

but the brain even has the capacity

to learn new insights
as a result of the trauma

that it could not have learned otherwise.

Now, post-traumatic growth
is not a guarantee,

but it is possible when provided
with the right conditions.

So what does this mean for Sofia?

That means there are treatments
available nowadays

that can help Sofia to learn
to stabilize that survival brain,

balance the emotion brain,

bolster the attachment brain,

recalibrate the cognition brain,

and even neutralize the Zeigarnic Effect -

in other words, help Sofia
learn to close the loop

so that she really can move on
with the rest of her life.

Tragically, however,
the problem of human trafficking

is not just a problem of neurons;

it's also a problem of morons.

For the sake of this talk,

I would like to define a moron

as anyone who sexually
exploits someone else

for either pleasure or profit.

Now so far in this talk,

we have learned
that psychologists and others

are working really hard
to help people fix their neurons.

What about the morons?

Can they be fixed?

Now, if so far in this talk,

you've been sitting here
thinking that Sofia's story

is probably pretty extreme

and maybe doesn't
really reflect the rest of society,

then I am tempted to forgive you.

But I'm not.

Instead, I am going to educate you.

Because the reality is
Sofia's story is not an isolated case.

According to the University of Texas,

there are 79,000 Sofias

in the state of Texas alone.

That's 79,000 children,

minors,

who currently being trafficked
for their bodies, right now as we speak,

in just one out of 50 states.

Let's not kid ourselves.

The problem of human trafficking
is epidemic in this country.

So some of you might also
be sitting here thinking,

"Well thank God,
I'm not one of those morons,

because I would never
prostitute out my daughter."

Okay.

But would you ever
physically or emotionally,

visually or virtually,

prostitute out someone
else's daughter or son?

My friend, it happens
millions of times a day in this country

on the internet alone.

Let's not kid ourselves.

Pornography is prostitution.

Prostitution is human trafficking.

So just how bad is this problem
of virtual trafficking?

Well, how about [25%]
of all internet searches?

How about 35% of all internet downloads?

How about 28,000 users per second?

How about 2.5 billion emails per day?

Still not convinced?

In this country alone,

a new pornographic video
is produced every 39 seconds.

Do not tell me that we don't have
a problem in this country.

What do we do when there is
a problem in our society?

We consult with our leaders,
of course, right?

That is precisely my second burden
for us here today.

Why is it that you and I
both are bombarded

with daily headlines indicating
that the leaders of our country,

including leaders of courts,
leaders of cinema,

leaders of commerce,
leaders of mass communication,

leaders of our churches,

leaders of Capital Hill,

are sometimes our leaders in sexual abuse.

I just don't get it.

Something does not compute.

In fact, I think I am experiencing
my own Zeigarnic Effect

right now as we speak.

So in order to make this simple
for my own simple brain,

Is it safe to say that we have
some morons in leadership?

In fact, I sincerely hope

that every single person in this room

is experiencing
the Zeigarnic Effect along with me

because we have some major
unfinished business

in this country.

But lest we point too many fingers,

let's not forget

that among the greatest leaders
of sexual abuse in this country

are college campuses.

I was a dorm director for three years.

I know that statistic first hand.

So a final question
I have for us today is,

Are we really a city on a hill,

or are we are a city on a pill?

The pill of lust and greed

with the lethal, toxic
side effect of hypocrisy.

Now, that's a tough pill to swallow.

But do you know what's even worse?

That pill is starting to swallow us.

So, in conclusion,

I don't care if you are
a pastor or a priest.

I don't care if you are
a captain or a coach.

I don't care if you are
democrat or republican.

I don't care if you are a professor
and certainly if you are a president.

Unless we are severely
dyslexic as a nation,

then "no" does not mean "on"

and "no" certainly
does not mean "more-on" -

unless, of course,
we have correctly self-diagnosed.

Thank you.

(Applause)