KK: Once we have the possible victim alone, should we be very direct or a bit more tangential with our questions?
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ACEP Now: Vol 37 – No 04 – April 2018CD: This will be one of those answers every lawyer and doctor hates: It depends. It depends on the person asking the questions. If you have one of your nurses in the ER who has been there for 20 years, and she is phenomenal at getting victims of domestic violence and human trafficking to talk to her due to a slow, methodical and caring approach, then you let her do it her way. Or you may have other people just come right out and say, “Honey, who is that guy in the waiting room, he’s not your husband. What is going on?” And that might work. It’s very personally driven, and it’s very situation specific. Go with your strength.
As an FBI agent, I’ve been in ERs and I know that intake questioning list can be fine-tuned to get at the trafficking situation. “So, are you safe in your home?” She will lie to you and say, “Yes.” If you just keep drilling into her domestic situation, you might be able to get at it. “So who lives in your home with you?” Well, right away, Kevin, that presumes she has a home. These domestic trafficking victims don’t have a home. They go from hotel to hotel to hotel. “Are you safe in your home? Where do you live? How long have you lived there? Do you rent?” Really try to delve into tripping her up in the answers and getting her to admit what’s going on. That’s really the key, along with asking her who else you should call. “Is there a grandmother, an aunt, a teacher? Is there somebody else I can call who can come down and be with you? You don’t have to stay with him.”
KK: That’s a great approach. Thank you very much for your time, Cynthia.
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3 Responses to “How to Spot and Help Human Trafficking Victims in the Emergency Department”
April 23, 2018
Eric S.My girlfriend was a victim of child sex trafficking so I’ve seen the lifelong impacts this has on a person both psychologically and physically. Several times she came close to being rescued as medical personnel noticed indicators of sexual abuse but no one ever called child protective services. If only they had asked one more question, checked one more thing, or made one phone call her life could have been radically different.
September 19, 2018
Stacy T.I am a Emergency Department RN, have been one for over 20 years. The amount of human violence against one another is staggering, the depravity is abhorrible. The incidence of healthcare workers violence is escalating. A chaotic emergency department could miss the signs of human trafficking certainly. I believe more structure and certainly less legal gray areas are needed before police or security guards can get involved. We live in a litigious society and approaching someone suspicious opens the door for “bad publicity for the institution and legality for police and healthcare workers”. I won’t say where I am employed, however the administration ‘frowns’ on armed police because it gives the impression that the hospital is unsafe. Call a spade a spade and protect human life against the depravity of society. Until stricter guidelines and social safe environments are in place there will continue to be a under reporting of human trafficking.
December 21, 2019
RichardoInteresting. I would suggest sending information to the detectives involved with this type of crime after the fact so they can gather information. I agree armed conflict in the ER is a significant risk.