A new report from a team of Northeastern University experts sheds light on the under-discussed and under-researched issue of minor sex trafficking victims and their interactions with the American health care system.
Sex trafficking, or commercial sexual exploitation, of minors is a major public safety and health issue in the U.S., but this is the first report to take a comprehensive look at the health needs of victims, says Amy Farrell, professor and director of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University.
Every year, hundreds of cases related to the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, or child sex trafficking, are reported in Massachusetts alone. That is likely an undercount, Farrell says.
Historically, health systems in the U.S. have focused on identifying victims, but the resistance of minor sex trafficking victims to even seek health care makes that an ongoing challenge. This report aims to address that, laying out the dire health needs of victims while recommending ways for health care providers to better address those needs.
“Exploitation impacts health care needs so not only should doctors and nurses be identifying and then referring victims to services, they should be using the information about exploitation to actually provide better health care,” Farrell says. “Providing quality health care requires understanding a person’s exploitation history or risk for exploitation because exploitation has impacts on health.”
The report is based on a nationwide study conducted by an interdisciplinary team of health care experts, criminologists, clinicians, psychologists and sociologists that also included Northeastern’s Carlos Cuevas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice, Alisa Lincoln, professor of health sciences and sociology and doctoral students Amelia Wagner and Sarah Lockwood. University of New Hampshire, Boston University and the Research Triangle Institute were also partners on the report.
