Healthcare Provider Toolkit & Resources

For working with victims and survivors of sex trafficking and the sex trade

Introduction

It is estimated that 88% of survivors of sex trafficking come in contact with healthcare providers every year (Seattle Against Slavery, 2019). In a survey conducted in the United States, only 6% of healthcare providers thought they had ever cared for a victim of trafficking (Ross, Dimitrova, Howard, Dewey, Zimmerman, & Oram, 2015). The purpose of this toolkit is to equip healthcare providers with the information and knowledge to best care for survivors based on a trauma-informed care (TIC) approach. 

In this toolkit “healthcare worker” (HCW), “healthcare professional” (HCP) or “healthcare provider” (HCP) are used to refer to any individual who works in healthcare; this includes but is not limited to doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, social workers, and administrators. 

This document will explore the definition of sex trafficking and the sex trade, how to identify survivors, and population-specific health needs. It will also cover the barriers to accessing care from survivors’ perspectives, trauma-informed care, and how to tangibly implement it. It will define the provider’s role in providing care, essentials of reporting, the do’s and don’ts of taking a health history/conducting a physical exam for survivors of sex trafficking, and how to prevent secondary trauma.

You can explore the toolkit on our site or download a complete copy, including references, below.

 Download an informational poster to hang in a healthcare setting or clinic below!