I have mixed opinions on the concept.
I understand why it exists. There are persons whose main or only reason is to vent to you, a lot of times unprompted. Now, venting isn't inherently bad, venting can be great, but it can also be tiring. If somebody constantly seeks you only to vent and has no regard for your own time, feelings and can't learn any coping mechanisms to soothe themselves, that can develop into a damaging relationship. And let's not deny it, some people use trauma dump as a tactic of manipulation/abuse.
I have been in both places. I've trauma dumped others to the point of making them mad at me because I wanted to, because it "helped" me release my emotions "justifiably". It ruined a lot of my relationships irreparably and worsened my mental state. On the other hand, I've also been trauma dumped by people I've barely known, and even though I stated my boundaries clearly (I don't mind if people want to vent, but I don't wanna be perceived as a cushion with no regard for my own feelings), they still did it and only made it about themselves, which made me cut contact entirely.
Not all relationships are made for that type of connection and that is *not* bad, they shouldn't go one way only.
However, I also dislike that a lot of people have taken to label any kind of venting as "trauma dumping", simply because the idea makes them uncomfortable and not because of the attitudes or intentions of the other parties. Some people wanna label anything "trauma dump" because they don't wanna do any emotional labor and think every mental issue should only be talked with a therapist. Nothing wrong with not wanting to do emotional labor, but be clear about it and don't paint the other person as the bad guy.
Not all problems need to involved a therapist, a therapist can only help so much, a client has to put into work what they've learned. Besides, it can feel rather pathologizing, worsening how we perceive our emotional needs.
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I've been following several accounts relating to somatic therapy, indigenous healing practices and traditional medicine. Now, I'm not indigenous myself nor the most knowledgeable person on the topic, but I find it interesting how a lot of people who are talk about topics such as mental health. In some communities, the mental well-being of their members is a collective effort, not placed upon one individual solely. Depending on the community, they may apply practices such as: talking-listening, meditation, ritual dancing, herbalism, spiritual rituals, etc. (Most of this practices have been appropriated by the western world)
It makes me wonder if things like trauma dumping wouldn't be a big issue if there were community efforts to help, heal and look after their members, with many methods to do so. It's no secret that our current society is very lonely, there's a lack of connection for many of us, which is why we look for forums like SaSu or discord servers (which, I'm not implying they're bad, just to clarify).
Perhaps if we were able to create in-person communities to support each other, and not entirely relying on therapists or other mental health professionals, we could aliviate many of our emotional issues and trauma. Just a thought, I'm just meandering at this point (also, not trying to villanize mental health workers)
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Anyway, that's my opinion. I'm very sorry for what you went through, it was not your fault, they should've been clear and honest with you; that's why boundaries exist.
