Engaged Scholars: Jacquelyn Meshelemiah

June 2025

Engaged Scholars is a series highlighting Ohio State faculty who have made an impact in our communities through their community-engaged research and teaching.

Jacquelyn Meshelemiah
Professor
College of Social Work

I am a social work scholar activist dedicated to enhancing the lives of marginalized groups. As a licensed social worker and academic, my research is dedicated to training social workers to adhere to the mission of the social work profession. This includes addressing the fundamental needs of client populations in an anti-oppressive, resourceful, and compassionate manner. Specifically, a primary thread of my scholarship is centered on human trafficking. This body of work seeks to identify and address various challenges associated with trafficking, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), substance use, healthcare issues, limited access to social services, violence, disabilities, migration, and different forms of oppression. In doing this important work, I have worked with and collaborated with survivors, affected communities, community leaders, law enforcement, and social service agencies on both domestic and international stages.

I have been instrumental in shaping and refining the discourse surrounding human trafficking, viewing it through a social work lens that acknowledges its multifaceted and deeply entrenched nature. Despite initial skepticism within the academic community, my work and that of other scholars in this arena, has led to a greater understanding and acceptance of this type of scholarship.

Why is it important to engage the community in your research and teaching?

As a social work scholar activist at a land-grant institution, I hold responsibilities to both local and broader communities. I advocate for and actively engage in community-based participatory research (CBPR), which improves community engagement and research by leveraging the knowledge, experiences, and relationships of community members. Under the guidance of community partners, I have successfully accessed populations that would have been challenging to reach otherwise. I have learned how to conduct research interviews in a supportive and non-traumatic manner. The meaningful conversations and deeply personal interviews resulting from these collaborations have generated tangible outcomes and recommendations for organizations, social workers, policymakers, and researchers working with and advocating for human trafficking survivors. This knowledge is transferred to the classroom in an online human trafficking course (Social Work 50005) I teach in the College of Social Work. I also prioritize dissemination of my research findings in not only academic settings, but also in community settings among partners and community members.

What led you to the path of engaged scholarship? How did you get started?

In the 1990s, I became a part of a research team on a grant funded by the Buffalo Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice. We aimed to understand why local women and girls in a community near Buffalo were being misidentified as "streetwalkers" by men seeking sexual services. Before starting our research, we needed to gain a thorough understanding of street-level prostitution. I was introduced to a potential community partner named "Queen." She self-described as someone with lived experiences as a "child prostitute." Learning about her victimization from ages 16 to 26 revealed that the violence she faced was far more sinister than a child supposedly consenting to prostitution. [It was only in 2000 that the United States began using the term sex trafficking.] Queen was mislabeled as a "child prostitute" when she was a sex trafficking victim. After learning about the extreme interpersonal sexual violence (IPSV) that this young woman endured for 10 years, it made me understand the complexity surrounding Queen's experiences. Along with the lack of research available on this form of IPSV, Queen taught me that engaged scholarship must begin within the community and the involvement of community partners.

How has your scholarship benefited from engaging with community partners?

I have had the privilege of conducting research on sex and labor trafficking with community partners in Ghana, Ethiopia, Portugal, Sri Lanka, and various regions of the United States. These endeavors would not have been possible without the acceptance and trust of community partners who shared their networks, expertise, and personal stories with me. Their contributions were integral to the success of my scholarship. The advancement of my career is attributable to the support and collaboration of community partners.

What has been a highlight of your community engagement experience?

The highlight of my community engagement experience is the people. I have forged lifelong relationships with community partners on the international stage, as well as right here in Ohio. Women with lived experiences as trafficked persons, in particular, have shown me how courage, resilience, trust, and healing can transform a diabolical situation into an unexpected alliance between researchers and community partners.

What advice would you give to faculty and students who are interested in engaging the community in their scholarship?

Faculty and students interested in involving the community in their scholarship should establish genuine relationships with prospective community partners well before writing a grant application or a research project begins. It is beneficial to become acquainted with potential community members early in one's academic career with the aim of creating a relationship that leads to jointly developed grant proposals, research projects, and other initiatives that benefit both the university and the broader community.

Sample Engaged Scholarship

The following are four journal articles authored in collaboration with community partners in Ohio, Ethiopia, and Portugal. These articles focus on the issues of sex and labor trafficking, as well as the victimization of women during armed conflicts.

Meshelemiah, J.C.A., Arroyo Rojas, F., Steinke, H.R., Carson, M., & Haegele, J.A. (2024). The complex and marginalized experiences of BIPOC trafficked women: An examination of disabilities, ACEs, discrimination and racism. Journal of Human Trafficking, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2024.2426938

Desalegn, S., *Kasseye, E., *Gebeyaw, G., & Meshelemiah, J.C.A. (2023). The challenges of women housed in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps during an armed conflict in Ethiopia. Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work, 38(1), 55-74. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099221125790

Pereira, C., Pereira, A., Budal, A., Dahal, S., Daniel-Wrabetz, J., Meshelemiah, J.C.A., Carvalho, J., Ramos, M.J., Carmo, R.M., & Pires, R.P. (2021). If you dont migrate, youre a nobody: Migration recruitment networks and experiences of Nepalese farm workers in Portugal. Journal of Rural Studies, 88, 500-509. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0743016721001194

Meshelemiah, J.C.A., Khalsa, S., & Flores, E. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on research with trafficked women and women engaged in commercial sex activities: Implications for funding, outreach, and engagement. Slave Free Today, https://slavefreetoday.org/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-research-with-sex-trafficked-women-and-women-engaged-in-commercial-sex-activities-implications-for-funding-outreach-and-engagement/