Mass General, MMS Publish Guidebook on Human Trafficking

BOSTON — Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Mass. Medical Society (MMS), recognizing that “the physical and psychological trauma caused by human trafficking is undeniably enormous and that its impact on the health of our patients, communities, and society at large is only just beginning to be determined,” have collaborated in publishing a comprehensive guidebook for healthcare providers on human trafficking.

Human Trafficking: A Guidebook on Identification, Assessment, and Response in the Health Care Setting is the product of a partnership between the Human Trafficking Initiative, a program of MGH Emergency Medicine’s Division of Global Health & Human Rights, and the medical society’s Committee on Violence Intervention and Prevention. The guidebook is available free online from both organizations.

“Human trafficking can affect anyone regardless of race, gender, class, or age,” said Dr. Wendy Macias-Konstantopoulos, medical director of the MGH Human Trafficking Initiative, chair of the MMS Committee on Violence Intervention and Prevention, and contributing senior author for the guidebook.

“Because of the devastating physical and mental-health outcomes associated with human trafficking, it is imperative that physicians and other providers learn about this insidious, widespread public-health problem. Healthcare providers can play a key role in breaking the cycle of abuse and improving the health and well-being of those afflicted by this violent crime. Our guidebook is intended to educate healthcare providers and provide resources for patient referral and ongoing professional education.”

The guidebook is the result of three years of research by the authors and has been peer-reviewed by experts from such respected sources as the Institute of Medicine, Northeastern University School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the Justice Resource Institute in Boston, and the Fraser Health Authority of British Columbia, Canada.

Dr. Elaine Alpert, founding chair of the MMS Committee on Violence Intervention and Prevention and first author of the guidebook, notes that most of the authors in the guidebook, as well as the reviewers, have played key roles in research, policy, clinical care, and case management for victims of human trafficking. “The guidebook aggregates the most respected worldwide scholarship and advocacy in the field, and its content is enhanced by the voices of survivors.”

The book provides an overview of trafficking, describes its clinical manifestations, and offers guidance for healthcare professionals about identification, assessment, care, and follow-up.

The publication’s 44 pages also include descriptions and discussions of labor, sex, and organ trafficking, including risk factors and epidemiology; characteristics of victims and perpetrators; health effects of trafficking; reporting to and communicating with law-enforcement and child-protection authorities; and legal and immigration issues. A list of resources, both Massachusetts-specific and national, is also included.