Human Trafficking: Overview for Texas Healthcare Professionals

Course Description

Course Description:

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 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.