Training the Medical Community to Identify Trafficking Victims

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August 10, 2016

child in paper gown sitting on doctors table By Dr. Katariina Rosenblatt, member of the SOAR Technical Working Group

It was the early eighties in Miami. I struggled to tell my pediatrician what was happening to me. I couldn’t. It was better to live with potential illness than risk embarrassment.

If my pediatrician had known what to look for and what to ask, my story may have turned out differently.

Many victims of human trafficking come into contact with the health care system like I did. Now, as an ACF SOAR Technical Working Group member, I help advise doctors on what to look for and develop solid questions that doctors can ask patients that may have been trafficked.

Child victims are already being identified. On one occasion, I was asked to train staff at a local hospital. I trained the physicians on how to connect with their patients, to establish trust. I also advised them to look for red flags like multiple sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), inconsistent stories, and children coming in accompanied by an un-related adult.

Shortly after the training, the doctors noticed an older man bringing in a 14-year-old who was battling STIs. She later disclosed that she had run away from the foster care system, and had become a victim of human trafficking. They were able to identify, assist, and safely relocate her. She is now a healthy honor roll student, and is looking forward to helping others by becoming a lawyer.

Identifying potential victims in their midst is one of the best ways to help survivors. By establishing trusted relationships, medical professionals can be a key ally in the fight against human trafficking.

Read more about the SOAR Program.

Dr. Katariina Rosenblatt LL.M, Ph.D, is a member of the Technical Working Group for SOAR, a program that assists health care professionals and other social service providers in identifying potential victims of human trafficking. She is the founder of the nonprofit There Is Hope For Me, a group that supports survivors and their families.