Course overview Human trafficking is a global public health and human rights issue (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNODC], 2018) involving the exploitation of 18.7 million people and yielding profits of $150 billion (USD) per year worldwide (International Labour Office [ILO], 2014). Although organizations from all sectors have emerged to fight against and prevent human trafficking, healthcare professionals are in a unique position to identify and care for trafficked persons. One study reported that 88% of trafficked persons interacted with a healthcare professional during their time being trafficked (Lederer & Wetzel, 2014). Despite a high frequency of contact with trafficked individuals, there is a documented lack of both education available to healthcare providers on the signs of human trafficking and protocols on caring for trafficked individuals (Ahn et al., 2013). Healthcare providers are on the front lines of recognizing signs of trafficking and advocating for their patients. However, when What Is human trafficking? Human trafficking happens globally and occurs when an individual is recruited, transported, transferred, harbored, and/ or received by force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation by a trafficker. The exploitation may take various forms, such as sex trafficking or labor trafficking. Human trafficking is often confused with smuggling. While trafficking What are the types of trafficking? Providing effective aid to trafficked individuals requires that healthcare providers recognize and understand the many types of trafficking that occur, including sex trafficking, labor trafficking, debt bondage, organ and egg trafficking, child soldiers (youth forced to serve in armed conflict), and trafficking for forced criminal activities (Interpol, n.d.). In the United States, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) dichotomizes trafficking into sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Organ trafficking is less prevalent, referring to the illegal sale or exchange of a person’s organs. According to the TVPA, any commercial sex act is considered sex trafficking in those individuals younger than 18 years of age. For adults, sex trafficking occurs when there is an element of force, fraud, or coercion along with commercial sex acts, which differentiates it from consensual commercial sex. Labor trafficking encompasses those individuals actively manipulated into situations of labor exploitation through involuntary servitude or slavery. A person does not need to be transported physically from one location to another for the crime to fall within the trafficking definitions stated here (U.S. Department of State, 2000). There are various ways to exploit individuals within sex and labor trafficking. One form of exploitation is bonded labor, or debt bondage. In this type of trafficking, a trafficker uses financial indebtedness to prevent an individual’s freedom (U.S. Department of State, 2000). Coercion is another way trafficked persons are exploited and can include blackmailing, social marginalization, physical threat, and fear of being criminalized or deported. Who is trafficked? Although human trafficking is rampant, the data on numbers of victims are limited. No international database for the number of victims exists. Victims are often reluctant to report their plight for fear of retribution by the traffickers or of deportation. The Polaris Project, an organization working against human trafficking, coordinates the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline [(1-888-373-7888, Text BeFree (233733)] and provides vital services to trafficked individuals. Since 2007,
the healthcare provider does not have accurate knowledge of how to recognize and care for patients who are being trafficked, those trafficked persons will return from medical encounters to their lives of coercion and manipulation. Intervening and advocating for trafficked persons become difficult when healthcare providers do not know the signs of trafficking, what steps to take in providing aid, and how to empower patients to leave their current abusive situation. This course for healthcare professionals is an introduction into the complex crime of human trafficking, with a focus on sex and labor trafficking and the common symptoms and conditions that occur in trafficked persons. Healthcare professionals who complete this course will be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of trafficked persons and identify the interventions needed to care for these individuals. Additionally, this course lists national resources that provide vital services to trafficked persons and makes recommendations for patient and staff safety when addressing these potentially volatile scenarios.
DEFINING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
involves exploitation for forced labor or sexual exploitation, smuggling is providing a service such as transportation or fraudulent documents, often to illegally gain entry to a foreign country (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2017). Ultimately, three distinct elements validate a case of trafficking: the act, the means, and the purpose (UNODC, 2014). Sex and labor trafficking can occur in a variety of licit and illicit settings. Formal industries and ways in which sex and labor trafficking occurs in the United States include: ● Agriculture, including seasonal harvesting work or caring for animals. ● Domestic work, including cooking, cleaning, other household work, and care giving. ● Restaurants and small businesses, including waitstaff, kitchen staff, bussers, or dishwashers. ● Traveling sales crews, and peddling and begging rings, including selling candy, magazine subscriptions, and other goods or soliciting money. ● Health and beauty services, including nail salons, hair salons, spas, or massage parlors. ● Escort services through agencies and online sex sites. ● Brothels, which can be home-based, lodge-based, or road (truck stop)-based. (National Human Trafficking Resource Center [NHTRC], 2015a; Polaris s, n.d.b) In some cases, the trafficked person may not understand that he or she is being trafficked according to the law (International Organization for Migration [IOM], 2009). With such varied experiences among trafficked individuals, it can be challenging for healthcare providers to recognize cases of trafficking. Having a clear comprehension of the definition of trafficking, as well as its scope, enables healthcare providers to more accurately identify and provide intervention for those being trafficked, including individuals who may be unaware of the full consequences of their current situation. Polaris has collected data from the hotline to document where human trafficking is taking place in the United States (NHTRC, 2016). In 2019, 22,326 victims and survivors were identified (NHTRC, 2019). The 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report identifies a list of populations that have increased vulnerabilities to trafficking in the United States.
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Book Code: SWTX1524
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