Introduce the idea of human trafficking as a public health issue, not just a law enforcement issue
Georges C. Benjamin
Preface: Why This Book?
Book editors will briefly explain human trafficking via the socioecological model and trafficking’s place in US history
Makini Chisolm-Straker and Hanni Stoklosa
Introduction to Human Trafficking: Who Is Affected?
Dives deeper into the socioecological model presented in the preface (to include social determinants of risk)
Jordan Greenbaum
Trafficked and Missed
Sex trafficked survivor story: presented to an Emergency Department and not identified; how an “end demand” and law enforcement approach failed her
Jill XXX
Trafficked and Survived
Labor trafficked survivor story
James Dold
Sex Trafficking in the US
Discuss basics of definition and types of sex trafficking; statistics, including who is affected; history in the US
Clydette Powell
The Ignored Exploitation: Labor Trafficking in the US
Discuss basics of definition and types of labor trafficking; statistics, including who is affected; history in the US
Nicole Littenberg and Colleen Owens
Part 2: Vulnerable Populations
Trafficking of US Domestic Minors
Discuss basics of types of trafficking affecting youth in the US, statistics like average age of entry into exploitation and youth risk factors, including race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation
Carol Smolenski
Children at Risk: Foster Care and Trafficking
Specifically discusses the experiences of foster children who are trafficked: potential causative and contributory factors (including race/ethnicity) and interventions in progress
Madeline Hannan
Sex Trafficking in Indian Country
Discuss historical context of sex trafficking of Indian women and girls; current statistics of trafficking experience in this population; proposed reasons for vulnerability of this group (including loss of languages, land, and cultural identity); potential interventions that are culturally relevant and specific
Bonnie Claremont
LGBT and Trafficked
Discuss risk factors for these populations, including being kicked out of homes for sexual orientation or gender identity; types of trafficking commonly experienced; prevention programs and interventions being implemented
Steve Procopio
Part 3: Unique Health Needs
Mental Health of Survivors: Diagnoses and Necessities
Discuss the mental health diagnoses and statistics affecting trafficked persons; the needed interventions to improve the mental health of this population
Elizabeth Hopper
Physical Health of Survivors: Unmet Essentials
Discuss the physical health diagnoses and statistics affecting trafficked persons; the needed interventions to improve the physical health of this population; interventions available/recommended to providers
Sian Oram
Substance Abuse and the Life
Discuss how substance abuse contributes to being trafficked and continued exploitation
Kevin Chuang
Part 4: Prevention and Intervention
The Development and Psychology of Young Minds: Communities Can Prevent Exploitation
Preventing trafficking is not just about direct anti-trafficking work, but also the presence of supportive adults in the lives of youth; discuss the stages of development, toxic stress, and cognitive function development
Neil Boothby or Michael Wessels
Legal Support for Trafficked Minors: Improving the Health of Young Survivors
Discuss certification of trafficking experience or “victim of crime” status to obtain benefits and services, including housing and healthcare (encompassing mental health)
Lennon Moore
NGOs and the Anti-Trafficking Movement: Advocacy and Service
Discuss different types of NGOs engaged in anti-trafficking work; statistics on how many NGOs are doing anti-HT work and who is served; different types of anti-HT work (comprehensive services, including housing to economic support programs)
Fiona Mason
Faith-Based Organizations and Anti-Trafficking Efforts
Role of faith-based organizations in the anti-HT movement; strong focus on sex trafficking and why labor trafficking is less emphasized in this sector
Jeffrey Barrows
Research as an Anti-Trafficking Effort
Discuss role of evidence in anti-trafficking work and summary of research efforts thus far; recommendations for next steps
Cathy Miller
Trauma-Informed Care in Anti-Trafficking Work
Define and discuss trauma-informed and patient-centered care as it relates to anti-trafficking work and the utility of these efforts in providing care to individual survivors
Susie Baldwin
Law Enforcement Agents as Advocates: Traditional Policing and the Shift to Survivor-Centered Service
Discuss the shift from traditional policing (including arresting “child prostitutes”) to survivor-centered services, including terminology corrections and shifted goals
Donna Gavin
Community Health Clinics and Direct Care Provision
Discuss the role of direct service providers in the anti-trafficking movement
Kimberly Sujin Chang
Trafficking in the Media: Which and Whose Stories Get Told and Why
Discuss public mis/perceptions about trafficking and how the media shapes these ideas
Dan Gorenstein
Education of Youth and Communities: Prevention Efforts
Summarize prevention/education efforts of the past 15-20 years, including school and offender programs
Sharon Smith
From Not-for-Profit Work to Federal Interventions: The Mainstreaming of Human Trafficking
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Discuss the shift of anti-trafficking work from grassroots efforts to the development of a federal office with millions in funding
Katherine Chon (Clydette Powell?)
Moving Forward: Next Steps in Prevention and Intervention
Discuss next steps in anti-trafficking movement, including increased lay and public health professional understanding of and consideration of labor trafficking; shift to trauma-informed and survivor-centered care/intervention provision; importance of not diverting funds from existing programs that are indirectly doing anti-trafficking work (e.g., domestic violence support, anti-homelessness work, etc.) and comprehensive medical care for survivors; inclusion of survivors as full contributors to anti-trafficking work
Cathy Zimmerman
Makini Chisolm-Straker, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Brooklyn; co-founder and steering committee member of HEAL (Health Professional Education, Advocacy, Linkage) Trafficking; advisory board member of End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA).
Hanni Stoklosa, MD, MPH, physician, Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts; Executive Director and co-founder of HEAL (Health Professional Education, Advocacy, Linkage) Trafficking.
This clear-sighted reference examines the public health dimensions of labor and sex trafficking in the United States, the scope of the crisis, and possibilities for solutions. Its ecological lifespan approach globally traces risk and protective factors associated with this exploitation, laying a roadmap towards its prevention. Diverse experts, including survivors, describe support and care interventions across domains and disciplines, from the law enforcement and judicial sectors to community health systems and NGOs, with a robust model for collaboration. By focusing on the humanity of trafficked persons, a public health paradigm broadens our understanding of and ability to address trafficking while adding critical direction and resources to the criminal justice and human rights structures currently in place.
Among the topics covered:
Children at Risk: Foster Care and Human Trafficking
LGBTQ Youth and Vulnerability to Sex Trafficking
Physical Health of Human Trafficking Survivors: Unmet Essentials
Research Informing Advocacy: An Anti-Human Trafficking Tool
Caring for Survivors Using a Trauma-Informed Care Framework
The Media and Human Trafficking: Discussion and Critique of the Dominant Narrative Human Trafficking Is a Public Health Issue is a sobering read; a powerful call to action for public health professionals, including social workers and health care practitioners providing direct services, as well as the larger anti-trafficking community of advocates, prosecutors, taskforce members, law enforcement agents, officers, funders, and administrators. “An extraordinary collection of knowledge by survivors, academics, clinicians, and advocates who are experts on human trafficking. Human Trafficking is a Public Health Issue is a comprehensive offering in educating readers on human trafficking through a multi-pronged public health lens.”
Margeaux Gray: Survivor, Advocate, Artist, Public Speaker