New screening tool developed to identify trafficking victims

Last week we examined the need for human trafficking to be discussed in school. I maintain that it should be delivered in elementary, middle, high school as well as college.

This week, I’d like to share the excellent work Baylor College of Medicine is doing for the medical community. They’ve updated their thinking through various studies and focus groups to come up with a better way of identifying trafficking victims when they come into the healthcare system.

Many trafficked victims are instructed not to give any vital information to doctors when being treated, so Baylor has come up with better ways to screen patients for possible issues regarding trafficking or exploitation.

Following is from their report “Researchers: tool can identify human trafficking victims” published on the Baylor College of Medicine website.

A screening tool designed specifically to assess for human trafficking was more likely to identify sexual and labor exploitation of youth, as well as the risk factors, than a commonly used psychosocial assessment, reported researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

“This study emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to recognize how difficult it can be for youth who have been trafficked to open up to providers,” said co-author Dr. Claire Bocchini, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor and faculty member of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Child Health Policy and Advocacy. “Providers need to be trained on the importance of using a trafficking-specific screening tool to maximize the opportunity to identify trafficking survivors. We also have to offer the most supportive and accepting atmosphere as possible to help overcome mistrust in the healthcare system and optimize acceptance of resources.”

“Identifying trafficking victims is a challenging process due to many factors, including extreme trauma and mistrust. This new screening tool will allow healthcare and social services providers to quickly identify and provide life-changing services to homeless young adults who have been victims of labor and sex trafficking,” said Leslie Bourne, executive director of Covenant House Texas.

Groups identified as most at risk for trafficking include youth involved in the foster care or juvenile justice systems, those who experienced abuse, youth who run away from home and those who are unstably housed or homeless.

The sex trafficking screening tool asked specific questions about trade sex, and based on the data, 22 percent reported they had traded sex for food, clothing, money, shelter, favors or other necessities for survival. Of those, 70 percent were minors (under age 18) the first time they traded sex. Commercial sexual exploitation was more likely to be identified by the new tool than the standard psychosocial assessment.

“The new assessment tool was much more effective at finding exploitation. It is important for providers working with high-risk groups to add these questions specific to trafficking,” said corresponding author Dr. Diane M. Santa Maria, interim dean and Dorothy T. Nicholson, distinguished professor at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth. “Identifying them allows these youth to access services that they otherwise wouldn’t receive. You can’t help someone you don’t know about.”

“We found that the entry into trafficking also happens through family, friends and acquaintances. This was extremely eye-opening and needs to be explored,” Santa Maria said. “These are kids who have fallen through every crack society has. When these youth are in desperate need of food and shelter, the vulnerability for trafficking is tremendous.”

“There’s difficulty in untangling what’s happening. Is it sexual abuse or sexual abuse and human trafficking? We want providers to be asking the right questions,” Santa Maria said.

Originally published at dougbardwell.com on March 12, 2019.