White Paper: Recognizing Child Trafficking as a Critical Emerging Health Threat

Author: Peck, Jessica; Meadows-Oliver, Mikki; Hays, Stacia & Garzon Maaks, Dawn

Abstract: Human trafficking is a pandemic human rights violation with an emerging paradigm shift that reframes an issue traditionally seen through a criminal justice lens to that of a public health crisis, particularly for children. Children and adolescents who are trafficked or are at risk for trafficking should receive evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care from trained health care providers (HCPs). The purpose of this article was to engage and equip pediatric HCPs to respond effectively to human trafficking in the clinical setting, improving health outcomes for affected and at-risk children. Pediatric HCPs are ideally positioned to intervene and advocate for children with health disparities and vulnerability to trafficking in a broad spectrum of care settings and to optimize equitable health outcomes.

Keywords: human trafficking, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, child trafficking, pediatric nurse