Physicians for Human Rights Student Program

Human trafficking, which affects over 20 million people worldwide and includes both forced labor and sexual exploitation, is an egregious human rights violation that has profound personal and public health implications. Human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states, and the Justice Department found that 83% of domestic sex trafficking victims are U.S. citizens. It is estimated that up to 88% of human trafficking victims in the U.S. report encountering a health care provider, with over 50% of these encounters occurring in the emergency/urgent care setting. Future health care providers are in a unique position to identify victims of human trafficking and mitigate the devastating effects. However, one study showed that 95% of the surveyed ER doctors and nurses have never received formal training on human trafficking.