HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS are not aware of the occurrence of sex trafficking nor have they been trained to identify victims.
That’s according to a study ‘Sex Trafficking in Ireland from a Health Care Perspective’ in the October edition of the Irish Medical Journal.
It found that sex trafficking within Ireland is a hidden phenomenon and that there are no Irish guidelines or referral pathways to assist health care professionals.
It stated that, “Educating healthcare providers to identify, assess, and intervene appropriately on behalf of sex-trafficked victims is critical to provision of a comprehensive anti-human trafficking response, and has not been done in this country to date.”
It advised that an awareness of common physical and psychological health problems associated with sex trafficking by health care professionals may increase victim detection rates.
Sex trafficking victims
Sexual exploitation is the most common form of human trafficking with 70% of cases reported to authorities.
The majority of victims are women from Eastern Europe, Nigeria, other parts of Africa, South America and Asia.
Sex trafficking victims usually have poor access to healthcare and in many cases may only present when their medical situation becomes severe or life threatening.
One study found that 28% of victims had access to a healthcare provider while still in captivity yet the fact that they had been trafficked went undetected. The study says this shows the potential opportunity for intervention by health care professionals.
Barriers
Estimating the prevalence of sex trafficking is extremely difficult due its criminal nature and its overlap with the related activities of prostitution and illegal immigration.
Also the extreme fear of the victim makes disclosure unlikely. There are many barriers that prevent victims from reporting the crime to health care professionals such as threats to the victims’ family, fear of traffickers, distrust of authority due to past experiences and lack of information on their rights and supports.
The authors of the study state that “If health care professionals are aware of these barriers, they can ensure that these victims are informed of all the relevant referral pathways and support services in place in Ireland which enable them to make an informed decision.
The under-detection of victims of sex-trafficking is a real issue in Ireland and an awareness raising and comprehensive training exercise should be implemented for health care professionals.
“The referral guideline presented here could be distributed widely to health care professionals within Ireland to enable them to respond and refer appropriately.”
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