The Intersection of Child Trafficking and Health Care

Overview of Recognition and Prevention of Child Sex Trafficking in the Primary Care Setting: A Primer for Nurse Practitioners

“…It is difficult to quantify the precise numbers of children and adolescents involved in sex trafficking either within the United States or worldwide. 7 Several factors contribute to this difficulty: first, trafficking is a secretive enterprise. 6 Further, varying definitions of sex trafficking exist; state laws differ regarding reporting requirements, 7 and health care providers, Child Protective Services (CPS), and law enforcement agents may have a lack of knowledge and awareness regarding how to identify and respond to suspected cases of CST.…”

“…7 Several factors contribute to this difficulty: first, trafficking is a secretive enterprise. 6 Further, varying definitions of sex trafficking exist; state laws differ regarding reporting requirements, 7 and health care providers, Child Protective Services (CPS), and law enforcement agents may have a lack of knowledge and awareness regarding how to identify and respond to suspected cases of CST. Additionally, victims of CST rarely self-report for a variety of reasons: victims often do not self-identify as such; they feel responsible for their involvement in the sexual exploitation.…”

“…8 Current and past traumatic experiences may contribute to trauma bonding with their traffickers, a process by which the child forms a powerful emotional bond to the perpetrator after a cycle of flattery, attention, expensive gifts, intimidation, verbal abuse, and violence. [7][8][9] Further, there is a lack of a unified reporting system, adding to difficulties in quantifying the numbers of youth involved in CST. 10 However, statistics do exist that shed light on the potential numbers of CST victims.…”

Educating paediatric health‐care providers about human trafficking

“…It is important that educational curricula for those working with the paediatric population address issues specific to children and adolescents, including risk and vulnerability factors, developmental issues, medical, social needs and mandatory reporting requirements for child trafficking 15,19,35 …”

“…It is important that educational curricula for those working with the paediatric population address issues specific to children and adolescents, including risk and vulnerability factors, developmental issues, medical, social needs and mandatory reporting requirements for child trafficking. 15,19,35 All HCPs need to be aware of the spectrum of human trafficking and be able to recognise and appropriately respond to those subjected to labour and/or sexual exploitation, be they adults or children, domestic citizens, legal residents or foreign nationals. However, current HCP training mirrors the public priority placed on sex trafficking, often at the expense of attention to forced labour.…”