Sex Trafficking Victim Identification in the Medical Setting

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (2014) estimated that one in six runaways were likely to be victims of sex trafficking. Nearly 88% of trafficking survivors reported having some kind of contact with the health care system while they were trafficked (Lederer & Wetzel, 2014). In this study, the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research at Arizona State University is attempting to determine the knowledge medical students and healthcare professionals have on identification of a sex trafficking victim and methods of reporting these situations within their organizations. To explore the knowledge providers and students have on sex trafficking victim identification as well as reporting protocols, our office sent out an online, anonymous survey to current medical students and healthcare professionals in the United States. The survey results will assist in the development of a training curriculum addressing the identification of sex trafficking victims within a medical setting and how to report within organizations. The anticipated outcome of this study was that medical students and healthcare professionals have not had training or continuing education on identifying a potential sex trafficking victim.