Physicians can play an important role in spotting and potentially helping human trafficking victims during doctors’ visits. With the help of a Texas Medical Association leader, they’re learning how.
El Paso infectious disease specialist Gilbert Handal, MD, believes he personally witnessed human trafficking victims coming into the clinic for health care, such as a 14-year-old patient delivering a baby.
“I suspected she was a victim of human trafficking because the person who accompanied her did not let the child speak and did not carry proper health records,” the former chair of TMA’s Committee on Child and Adolescent Health said.
Even though law enforcement did not respond quickly enough in that case to verify whether the child was being trafficked – and if so, intervene – Dr. Handal says it is important for physicians to be educated on the signs of human trafficking so they can do their best to potentially save lives.
“My hope is we can contribute to the documentation of these cases, collect data and provide information for law enforcement to follow up on them,” he said.
Dr. Handal leads TMA's CME program teaching physicians how to identify and help victims if they visit a hospital or seek health care. January is National Human Trafficking Awareness month.
“I know how fast we must act to help these individuals,” said Dr. Handal, noting that victims are taken out of the state very quickly.
Training such as Dr. Handal’s on how to prevent and report human trafficking is a requirement of physician licensure per state law.
“There are many misconceptions about human trafficking that you wouldn’t be aware of without proper education,” Dr. Handal said. “My presentation is given to increase knowledge of human trafficking and its consequences so Texas physicians may recognize the correct indicators and appropriate interventions.”
In his pre-recorded CME presentation, Dr. Handal lays out common controlling behaviors physicians should look out for to identify victims of human trafficking, especially when the person controlling the victim is present.
He said the controller often holds the patient’s identification or documents; fills out paperwork without consulting the patient; and claims to have a familial relation to the patient but does not know details about medical history or identity.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one-quarter of people trafficked into the U.S. enter the country through the Texas-Mexico border. Even though the problem is evident there, Dr. Handal says traffickers – who often have connections to drug cartels – are spread across the country.
“It is just heartbreaking,” he said.
Nearly 9 in ten victims (88%) access health care services, according to a 2018 report by Polaris, a survivor-centered movement to end human trafficking. The report also found more than half of survivors reported never being asked assessment questions related to trafficking or abuse during their health care visits.
These statistics point to a continued lack of awareness among key groups in the fight against human trafficking, says Dr. Handal.
“We [in health care] are oftentimes the first line of defense for these victims,” he said. “If help is not rendered in time, these victims face a lifetime of trauma. The first step is learning the signs of this horrible crime.”
The TMA Education Center offers more programs to meet physicians’ CME mandates for human trafficking and other topics. All these programs are free to members, thanks to TMA Insurance Trust, saving them $200 or more per program.