Health and Human Rights
Volume 18, Issue 1, 2016, Pages 181-192

Human trafficking identification and service provision in the medical and social service sectors (Article)

Schwarz C.* , Unruh E. , Cronin K. , Evans-Simpson S. , Britton H. , Ramaswamy M.
  • a Department of Women Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States
  • b University of Kansas, School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS, United States
  • c Stinson Leonard Street LLP, Kansas City, MO, United States
  • d University of Kansas, Hospital Emergency Department, Kansas City, KS, United States
  • e Department of Women Gender and Sexuality Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States
  • f Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS, United States

Abstract

The medical sector presents a unique opportunity for identification and service to victims of human trafficking. In this article, we describe local and site-specific efforts to develop an intervention tool to be used in an urban hospital’s emergency department in the midwestern United States. In the development of our tool, we focused on both identification and intervention to assist trafficked persons, through a largely collaborative process in which we engaged local stakeholders for developing site-specific points of intervention. In the process of developing our intervention, we highlight the importance of using existing resources and services in a specific community to address critical gaps in coverage for trafficked persons. For example, we focus on those who are victims of labor trafficking, in addition to those who are victims of sex trafficking. We offer a framework informed by rights-based approaches to anti-trafficking efforts that addresses the practical challenges of human trafficking victim identification while simultaneously working to provide resources and disseminate services to those victims. © 2016 Schwarz, Unruh, Cronin, Evans-Simpson, Britton, and Ramaswamy.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

human stakeholder emergency ward Social Work sex trafficking human rights Surveys and Questionnaires United States Humans psychology questionnaire prostitution health services victim prevention and control human trafficking service provision legislation and jurisprudence trafficking Sex Work hospital emergency service Emergency Service, Hospital crime victim Crime Victims
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84975221131&partnerID=40&md5=9ee9784d58f72d8c6c20dddad8b3cdd2
ISSN: 10790969
Cited by: 10
Original Language: English