Intersection of Human Trafficking, Youth Homelessness, Intimate Partner Violence, and Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention

Current as of:

Human trafficking is a criminal issue and a public health challenge. It can happen to any person of any race, age, gender, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or nationality. However, some populations are more vulnerable to human trafficking than others. The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) funded projects serve children, youth, individuals, and families nationwide that have been impacted by extreme trauma and adverse experiences. Certainly, intimate partner violence, homelessness, lack of youth supporting systems, socio-economic challenges, and structural racism and inequities increase the risks for multiple victimizations, including human trafficking.

four teens

Nearly all FYSB funded programs frequently serve individuals who are at high risk for human trafficking or have been trafficked. Therefore, it is important to address the intersection of human trafficking and the populations served by FYSB programs. FYSB’s anti-trafficking work integrates human trafficking prevention and intervention into FYSB’s program frameworks by using a public health, trauma-informed, survivor-centered  (PDF), and positive youth development approach. 

As we move forward, FYSB’s anti-trafficking efforts will integrate the Bureau’s priorities to ensure its anti-trafficking work is always connected to the broader efforts of advancing equity and justice nationwide. These key FYSB priorities include racial, gender, and LGBTQIA2S+ equity and equality; partnerships and collaboration; and the inclusion of individuals with lived experience.

 

Human Trafficking as a Public Health Issue

Most people recognize human trafficking as a violent crime that requires strong rule of law and extensive social safety nets to establish a foundation to protect victims and bring traffickers to justice. However, human trafficking is also a public health issue that impacts individuals, families, and entire communities across generations.

Public health promotes and protects the health of all people and their communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines public health as the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private communities, and individuals 1. CDC’s framework for applying a public health approach emphasizes input from diverse sectors including health, education, social services, justice, policy, and the private sector. Collective action on the part of these key collaborators can build a holistic prevention approach for communities to identify and respond to the complex needs of all survivors of human trafficking and address the root causes that make individuals, families, and communities vulnerable to trafficking.

A public health approach will encourage rigorous research to gather the data to change public understanding and behavior that enable human trafficking. Public health approaches will inform policies that recognize human trafficking as an inter-connected issue to other forms of violence and systemic inequities.

As early as 2016, ACF realized the power of framing human trafficking as a public health issue to enhance research and prevention efforts. ACF presented three ways that the fight against human trafficking can benefit from using a public health framework, which would:

  • Expand the constituents that need to be engaged in anti-trafficking efforts, including the critical voice of survivors to help inform the development of community-based programs and government policies to prevent and end human trafficking;
  • Recognize social and economic determinants of health and well-being that may lead to the crisis moment of trafficking. Interventions would go beyond the criminal justice and social service response and incorporate prevention strategies based on culturally relevant, gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts that also address the ripple effects of trauma; and
  • Help identify deeply rooted cultural norms around power, equity, gender, and consumer behavior that can impact social and economic dynamics that have historically enabled human trafficking.

LATEST NEWS

  • On December 29, 2023, the White House issued a proclamation declaring January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month . This year’s proclamation encourages everyone to play a role in the prevention of and response to human trafficking. The proclamation highlights how human trafficking impacts communities, especially those who have been historically underserved and historically marginalized, including LGBTQIA2S+ persons, women and girls, individuals from underrepresented communities, and those migrating to the United States.  

  • In August 2023 the Office of Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) hosted a National Human Trafficking Prevention Summit . The Summit provided cross-sector perspectives from subject matter experts, professionals, and survivors, offering research, data, and lived experience, to provide a current landscape of human trafficking. Summit panelists and participants offered ideas regarding needs and resources required for prevention of human trafficking.   

RESOURCES

  • 2024 NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION MONTH (NHTPM). The ACF Office on Trafficking in Persons has developed resources that organizations can use in support of NHTPM. Click here to learn more about U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ theme for Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2024, Activate Connections to Prevent Human Trafficking, and to obtain OTIP’s human trafficking prevention toolkit  (PDF)and other important resources to support human trafficking prevention in your community.
  • NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING HOTLINE.  The U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline provides the opportunity to report tips, connecting/locating with local anti-trafficking resources, and create safety plans. The Hotline is responsive to calls, texts, emails, and live chats.
  • FACT SHEET.  Human Trafficking | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov). This factsheet provides explanations of the definition of human trafficking in relation to ’sex vs. labor’, exploitation, smuggling and different elements such as ’action’, ’means’, and ’purpose’.
  • FACT SHEET.  Integrating Effective Practices to Identify Youth Victims of Human Trafficking.  (PDF) This factsheet provides organization serving vulnerable youth with strategies for integrating effective approaches for conducting a human trafficking assessment.
  • ISSUE BRIEF.  FYSB published an issue brief entitled, Human Trafficking Prevention: Strategies for Runaway and Homeless Youth Settings (PDF), to address the role that runaway and homeless youth (RHY) programs can play in the prevention of sex and labor trafficking among runaway and homeless youth. This Issue Brief highlights the importance of integrating public health, trauma-informed, and positive youth development principles into human trafficking interventions.
  • REPORT.  A Scan of the Field: Learning About Serving Survivors of Human Trafficking . This report documents the study’s findings in an effort to increase understanding about how human trafficking survivors receive services from domestic and sexual violence organizations and offers lessons learned for organizations that are looking to expand into this area of service.
  • INFOGRAPHICS.  Trauma-Informed Advocacy for Survivors of Human Trafficking at the Points of Contact . These infographics, created by The Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, highlight the importance of practicing trauma-informed advocacy at various points of contact. This resource was informed by survivors and advocates.
  • TIPSHEET.  The Administration on Children and Families created a tip sheet, Human Trafficking: Implications for Adolescent Health Outcomes , to learn about domestic minor sex and labor trafficking, and the implications for adolescent health outcomes. This resource includes invaluable information about human trafficking for providers who work with or on behalf of youth. 
Types: