International Organization for Migration, London School for Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, Caring for Trafficked Persons: Guidance for Health Providers, International Organization for Migration (2009)

URL: publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/ct_handbook.pdf

Abstract

This document aims to provide practical, non-clinical guidance to help concerned health providers understand the phenomenon of human trafficking, recognize some of the health problems associated with trafficking and consider safe and appropriate approaches to providing health care for trafficked persons. It outlines the health provider’s role in providing care and describes some of the limitations of his or her responsibility to assist.

This resource attempts to respond to questions such as: “What special approaches are required for diagnosis and treatment of a patient who has been trafficked?” and “What can I do if I know or suspect someone has been trafficked?”

Victims of trafficking, like victims of other forms of abuse, sustain injuries and illnesses that frequently fall to the health sector to address in a safe and confidential way. For a trafficked person, contact with someone in the health sector may be the first – or only – opportunity to explain what has happened or ask for help.

The physical and psychological health of men, women, and children is greatly compromised by the violence of human trafficking in its various forms. This guide offers healthcare workers with valuable information and recommendations on appropriate and safe practices as they interact with individuals who have been trafficked.

Note: The guide includes providing information about abortion, a policy that is inconsistent with HDN Guiding Principles.