Human Trafficking

Victims of Human Trafficking

Physicians and their clinical teams are in a unique position to intervene in one of the most insidious and seemingly invisible public health challenges: human trafficking. This form of slavery includes both labor and sex trafficking, and may involve people of any age, gender, race/ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, or sexual orientation. Victims and survivors of human trafficking may be seen at local clinics, emergency departments, or other medical settings and the health care team’s actions at that moment can make a life-saving difference.  This webpage is meant to provide physicians with a variety of resources to inform and support planning for that critical response.

Latest Resources for Practices and Clinics (2019)

Download and print the trifold Pocket Card for Health Care Providers and have a checklist of indicators at your fingertips:

Administration for Children and Families, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services

Download and print the trifold Pocket Card for Health Care Providers and have a checklist of indicators at your fingertips

Look Beneath the Surface: Pocket Card for Health Care Providers (374.93 KB)

Use this link to access a printable version customized by TMA with three pocket cards to a page for you and your staff!

Look Beneath the Surface: Pocket Card for Health Care Providers (Spanish) (375.91 KB)

Texas Hospital Licensing and Regulation – Texas law requiring human trafficking signage

Effective on September 1, 2017, all hospitals licensed under Health & Safety Code 241, and abortion facilities, including ambulatory surgical centers that perform abortions, must post human trafficking signage. Facilities are required to post separate signs in English, Spanish and any other language prevalent in the community. A facility must only display a separate sign in an additional language if it is in a political subdivision required to provide election materials in a language other than English or Spanish. Signs must be at least 8½ by 11 inches in size, with the notice covering at least four-fifths of the sign, and displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public and employees. Sample signs have been created for your convenience, but facilities may create their own sign as long as it complies with the law. For more information, contact: Health Facility Licensing program at (512) 834-4576 or infohflc[at]hhsc[dot]state[dot]tx[dot]us.

Sample signs: in English: Human Trafficking Sign - black and white (PDF, 712 KB) and Human Trafficking Sign - color (PDF, 1,034 KB)

In Spanish: Human Trafficking Sign in Spanish - black and white (PDF, 752 KB) and Human Trafficking Sign in Spanish - color (PDF, 1,090 KB)

What You Can Do

Women, men, and children who seek your treatment may need more than lab work and a prescription. They may be enduring exploitation and abuse that is not visible on the surface. What can you do to break the chains of modern-day slavery? Recognize, screen, and take appropriate action. Download this free publication for more information, and share it with colleagues. Continuing medical education credit is available at the TMA Education Center.  

Training and Education Resources

The National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center produced the Adult Human Trafficking Screening Tool and Guide, January 2018, for public health, behavioral health, health care, and social work professionals who wish to use trauma-informed and survivor-informed practices to assess adult clients and patients for human trafficking victimization or risk of potential trafficking victimization.

BE THE ONE from the Texas attorney general is an educational campaign to highlight everyone’s role in the prevention, recognition, and reporting of human trafficking.

New – SOAR Online, a series of free online CME training modules for physicians. The modules discuss how to implement the SOAR (Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond) model that equips professionals with skills to identify, treat, and respond appropriately to human trafficking. Once you register as a participant on the SOAR Online site, you can take the individual modules in any sequence at your own pace. Modules include:

• SOAR to Health and Wellness Module –1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
• Trauma-Informed Care Module – 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
• Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Module – 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
• SOAR for Health Care – 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

SOAR Online is provided by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center in collaboration with the Administration for Children and Families, Office on Trafficking in Persons and Office on Women’s Health.

Human Trafficking: Look Beneath the Surface from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

• OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Exposing the Myths of Human Trafficking — Infographic
• Health Assessment Pocket Card

TexMed 2017 Presentation

Human Trafficking: A Primer for the Health Care Professional
Melinda Lopez, MD, MPH

Policy References

Texas Medical Association:

260.101. Increasing Identification, Support, and Reporting of Human Trafficking Victims

325.010. Physicians’ Role in Identifying Violence and Abuse

Report of Council on Science and Public Health on Resolution 304 Increasing Identification, Support, and Reporting of Human Trafficking Victims

American Medical Association

H-65.966. Physicians Response to Victims of Human Trafficking

H-60.912. Commercial Exploitation and Human Trafficking of Minors