IDENTIFYING LABOR TRAFFICKING

This training was produced by The Enitan Story under the Community Engagement Fund, awarded by the City of Minneapolis. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this training are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the City of Minneapolis.

Project Goal & Learning Objectives

The goal of this project is to have breakthrough in the identification of labor trafficked victims in Minnesota, and connecting them to available resources through healthcare providers.

Healthcare providers will:

• Learn about human trafficking definition with more emphasis on labor trafficking.
• Increase their knowledge in identifying potential and labor trafficking victims. Learn the signs to look for to identify labor trafficked victims.
• Learn how to connect victims with community resources.

Introduction

Human Trafficking: A Public Health Issue

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “Human trafficking is a public health concern that affects individuals, families and entire communities across generations, according to the Administration for Children and Families, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Victims of human trafficking are more than likely to pass through the healthcare system during their victimization experience.” i

“… the American Public Health Association, the health system plays an important role in identifying and treating victims of human trafficking. Estimates show that approximately 80 percent of human trafficking victims are women, and health care providers are often the first professionals to have contact with trafficked women and girls. One study found that close to 50 percent of trafficked individuals saw a health care professional during their exploitation.”ii

Although human trafficking involves both sex and labor trafficking, Minnesota State spends $0 on labor trafficking compared to over $13 million on sex trafficking. In fact, the Minnesota legislature awarded $2 million extra to the base funding for sex trafficking and sexual exploitation during the 2019 legislative session. As a result, labor trafficking survivors are unidentified or unable to access available resources in the community. This grant will help The Enitan Story test the possibility of identifying potential victims and victims of labor trafficking through one of the main professionals – healthcare system – they are more than likely to come in contact with during their victimization experience.

It is hoped that labor trafficking will be treated parallel to sex trafficking so that victims and survivors can have equal access to services.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/human-trafficking-and-the-health-care-system.aspx

http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/human-trafficking-and-the-health-care-system.aspx

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