Human trafficking policies of professional nursing organizations: Opportunity for innovative and influential policy voice

Abstract

Human trafficking is a grievous human rights violation and rapidly emerging public health threat to which most nurses are ill‐equipped to effectively respond. Curricula development within academic institutions and standard setting of organizational, education, accreditation, or licensing entities are a slow‐moving and complicated process ill‐equipped to adequately inform nursing practice in a timely way. Professional nursing organizations are ideally situated with knowledge, skills, and attributes to effectively contribute in a timely manner to policy creation and implementation directed toward emerging health threats. This analysis identifies only nine of 104 national nursing organizations that deliver vision, skills, position statements, practice guidelines, or other tools for members seeking evidence‐based, credible, professional resources to initiate health policies and clinical protocols for human trafficking. Opportunity exists for nursing organizations to leverage the collective professional skill sets of their members to efficiently galvanize the nursing profession to effectively respond to persons encountered in clinical settings who are abused and exploited through trafficking.

Child Trafficking: What School Nurses Need to Know

“…As stated in NASN’s (2021) Human Trafficking Position Statement, it is essential to leverage NASN’s Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice ™ to empower the school nurse to activate critical tenets of leadership and community/public health to coordinate a systemic and concerted safety net for children experiencing abuse and exploitation through trafficking. In a 2022 analysis of 104 nursing organizations, only 9 had resources for their members to equip effective response to human trafficking (Peck & Doiron, 2022). NASN and the International Council of Nurses provide two specific resources, Prevention and Management of Child Maltreatment (https://www.nasn.org/nasn-resources/professional-practice-documents/position-statements/ps-child-maltreatment) and Human Trafficking: The Basics of What Nurses Need to Know (https://www.icn.ch/sites/default/files/2023-04/Human%20Trafficking%20Pamphlet_ENG.pdf).…”