Human Trafficking

Course overview

This course prepares healthcare professionals to recognize, assess, and respond to human trafficking in clinical settings. It focuses on health impacts, clinical indicators, trauma-informed care, ethical responsibilities, and coordinated response pathways. Content emphasizes recognition and safety rather than investigation, aligning with professional scope of practice. Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights and a complex public health issue that affects individuals across all ages, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It involves the exploitation of people through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of labor, services, or commercial sex. Unlike common misconceptions, trafficking does not require transportation across borders and can occur within the same city, neighborhood, or even household. The defining element is exploitation, not movement.