From Victimization to Restoration: Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Approaches to Care and Support Victims and Survivors of Human Trafficking

Author: Richie-Zavaleta, Arduizur Carli; Baranik, Sarah; Merch, Stephanie; Aitants, Janna & Rhodes, Shea

Abstract: In 2000, the United States (U.S.) enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a law that defined Human Trafficking (HT). Between 2000 and 2019, every state has enacted laws criminalizing HT. In 2015, the U.S. government encouraged health-care providers to gain awareness of this issue and utilize identification protocols to screen and assist HT patient-victims. Although HT became part of the health-care discourse, few states have enacted laws requiring training for health-care providers or protocols for the identification of patient-victims. Thus, HT victims continue to go unidentified or under-screened in medical settings. The health outcomes of HT victims continue to be negatively impacted long after being trafficked; hence, intervention is crucial and requires a multi-disciplinary response. This analysis proposes the collaboration of medicine, public health, law, and human rights fields as an optimal model. It also provides the historical progression of federal and state human-trafficking laws and recommendations to ensure the protection of human rights of HT victims. Key recommendations include: (a) mandating continuous training of health-care providers for the identification of HT patient-victims, (b) mirroring federal laws at the state level to ensure the protection of HT victims’ human rights, and (c) collaboration across noted fields.

Keywords: collaborative models, human trafficking, human rights, law, medicine, public health