Human Trafficking: Building a Healthcare Response

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, the McCain Institute hosted “Human Trafficking: Building a Healthcare Response.” Human trafficking victims often seek medical care for the abuse they suffer while “in the life.” Training medical professionals to recognize signs of human trafficking is the first step in getting these victims the help they require. Once the signs are more clear to the staffs at healthcare institutions, informed treatment can ensue following the correct development and implementation of necessary next steps.

The conversation included information on interagency efforts, recent legislation and examples of what has worked from medical professionals that have begun systematic human trafficking training in their organizations. The discussion highlighted the public health implication of human trafficking and how to effectively educate healthcare providers and first-responders to identify, report and treat survivors of human trafficking.