Working Therapeutically with Victims of Juju Trafficking “People who have been subjected to Juju ceremonies live in constant fear that the threats made by traffickers will sooner or later be realized in the form of severe illness or death. They often believe that they see signs of this happening to them in events that seem very ordinary to others. For example, a young client suffers a nosebleed and thinks that the Juju spirits are entering her body; another has terrible dreams about evil spirits entering her in the form of snakes. Most victims of Juju trafficking that I have worked with are hyper-vigilant and suffer disturbed sleep patterns which compound their trauma. “Juju ceremonies are enough to traumatize and terrify victims for the long term, but the experience of degradation in exploitation which follows further consolidates their trauma and fears. It becomes difficult for them to imagine a world with any positive outcome in it for them, and they can become conditioned to a negative outlook on their lives. “It is important for professionals who are working with victims of Juju trafficking to realize that they are often pre-occupied with concerns that are outside of the imagination of most people, but which are very real to them; especially if they are trying to disclose or explain traumatic aspects of their history. “I am careful never to ‘buy into’ the high drama of Juju trafficking ceremonies by echoing the client’s fears. Confronting the belief system of Juju as a whole is also unnecessary; in some cases I am working with victims who have been raised in communities which believe in Juju, and challenging any culturally shared belief system could undermine the relationship of trust. I try instead to help the victim focus upon the very basic motivations of their particular trafficker in subjecting them to a Juju ceremony. It is not Juju beliefs in themselves that present the greatest problem for the victim, but the exploitation of those beliefs by their trafficker. Therefore we focus upon a practical outlook, for example considering how convenient it is for the trafficker to be able to rely upon the fear of Juju, illness and death to keep the victim intimidated and silent about their situation, and how other victims have also been tricked in this way. The traffickers’ motivation in using Juju on the victim can be separated from the subjective elements of fear and ritual that are embedded in the victim’s memory. I repeatedly point out to the victim that despite having disobeyed the trafficker by speaking out, they are nonetheless waking up each day, still alive, and still coming to therapy. “I also work on normalizing any incidents which my clients believe relate to Juju. For example, I explain to my client that many people suffer nosebleeds and that a doctor can explain the reasons for this, or we discuss dreams and spirit visitations in terms of their psychological cause, rather than focusing on the significance of their content. people in the busy streets below, each of whom have different beliefs and are just getting on with their lives without the same fears. I find that a breadth of vision and interest in the outside world sometimes helps to distract the victim’s focus from their constant fear for themselves. “Victims of trafficking have proven to be strong and resilient in the face of extreme adversity. I emphasize and draw upon these strengths to discuss small actions that they can take in order to improve their lives. This is a very gradual process and sometimes even after achieving a good deal of progress, I find that clients have returned to their primary fears and preoccupations all over again. However the foundations which are laid through accumulative repetition of positive thoughts in therapeutic work are not lost in such cases. I try to return the client to the realization that their worst fears of death have still not been realized.” Helen Bamber “I have a client who suffers nightmares of spirits visiting her: we focus upon the room she is sleeping in and all of its practical components: the furniture, the bedside items, the bed cover, the lighting etc. Gradually these physical details effectively outweigh the sense that there was ever anything else in the room. “Focusing on the practical details of daily lives and habits is positive for people who fear phenomena, and the repetition of this over time can build confidence and a more optimistic outlook. Sometimes we will look out of the window to see all the 103