Choreographing Changes: Narratives of Resistance and Healing

Kolkata Sanved is a pioneering organization in the field of dance movement therapy (DMT) in India and South Asia. The organization has pioneered the use of DMT for psychosocial rehabilitation and empowerment through its model, Sampoornata. This article aims to describe the Sampoornata approach of DMT1 for psychosocial rehabilitation through a case study on its applications with a survivor of human trafficking. Globally, almost 80% of human trafficking is related to sexual exploitation, and India is the hub of these crimes in Asia. Human trafficking affects the marginalized sections of society, with women and children being the prime target. Victims of sexual trafficking suffer from severe psychological and physical trauma, and if these symptoms are not addressed, their process of recovery is hampered. The child protection system is usually unable to meet these needs, forcing survivors to carry the burden of trauma into their future. A participant of Kolkata Sanved’s program, Ruhi,2 was one such girl who encountered the system. This is her story and how she used the Sampoornata approach to get a new lease on her life.