Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar, worldwide industry that preys on the most vulnerable in our society. Traffickers exploit people in poverty, people who have experienced abuse, and often those in communities of color. Traffickers then blame the victim for their choices despite a lack of other choices.
The Life Story illustrates that there are many opportunities for different support systems to step in and prevent further victimization of trafficked people. The healthcare system is identified as an important opportunity to intervene because victims of trafficking often have contact with the healthcare system many times while they are being exploited. Particularly, one study found that 88% of trafficking survivors had been in contact with a healthcare provider, while another found that 50% had seen a healthcare professional while being actively trafficked. That being said, many healthcare workers do not know that they treated a victim of sex trafficking, or, their own biases around prostitution, race, and class prevent them from asking the right questions to protect the victims rather than further victimize them.
Healthcare workers are in a unique position to intervene because victims go to hospitals for a variety of different reasons that are often a result of their exploitation, including but not limited to STIs, broken bones or other physical injuries, substance abuse, malnutrition, and mental disorders. With COVID-19 putting healthcare workers on the front page of news stories for the past year and a half, it is more important than ever to emphasize how imperative trauma-informed training is for our nurses and doctors to intervene when they interact with a suspected human trafficking victim. More people are having contact with the healthcare system than ever before, from COVID-19 treatment to vaccines and boosters, which gives frontline healthcare workers more touchpoints with potential victims of trafficking. Often times, a victim will be in the treatment room with their exploiter, so The Polaris Project recommends posting the National Hotline discreetly for at-risk patients, like in bathrooms where an exploiter would not ordinarily accompany the patient. The Polaris Project also recommends implementing a universal trauma-informed training program for all healthcare workers to identify at-risk patients and programs to limit implicit biases that prevent victims from getting the live-saving care they need.
While COVID-19 continues to inundate hospital staff, the U.S. Department of State 2021 Trafficking In Persons Reportfound that victims of trafficking are being even more exploited and abused than ever before. It is imperative to educate the public on the myths of the sex trafficking industry. Victims need resources and funding allocated to training healthcare professionals to treat their patients through a trauma-informed lens with exploitation in mind as we continue to fight this pandemic.
Things You Can Do:
- The CSE Institute is a resource for people who want to support the fight to end human trafficking and survivors alike. The CSE Institute promotes victim-centred, trauma-informed, multidisciplinary education and technical assistance to trafficking responders. Consider supporting a local organization financially or volunteering to educate and train groups on the signs of trafficking and trauma-informed healthcare.
- Educate yourself on the different ways you may be able to intervene and make an impact on a possible victim’s life trajectory in the trafficking industry by visiting TheLifeStory.Com.
- Take this implicit bias quiz to understand your personal biases and ensure they are not impacting the decisions you make on a day-to-day basis.
This piece is part of our first-year law student blog series. Congratulations to author Taylor Wilson on being chosen!
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.