Human Trafficking Awareness for Massage Therapists: Recognition, Reporting, and Prevention

Course overview

This course is designed to meet Florida requirements for human trafficking education and provides instruction in accordance with Florida Statute 787.06 and Chapter 480, Florida Statutes. Participants will learn to define human trafficking, including acts such as transporting, soliciting, recruiting, harboring, providing, enticing, maintaining, or obtaining a person for the purpose of exploitation, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking. The course also addresses human trafficking as a form of modern day slavery involving force, fraud, or coercion. Emphasis is placed on the recognition of signs and indicators of human trafficking, including identification of vulnerable and at risk populations commonly encountered in massage therapy and healthcare settings. Participants will also learn appropriate reporting procedures in compliance with Florida law, including legal and ethical responsibilities, confidentiality considerations, and victim safety. The course includes information on resources available to victims, including referral to organizations such as Compass Connections and the National Human Trafficking Hotline, supporting a trauma informed and professional response. This course is relevant to the practice of massage therapy as defined in Chapter 480, Florida Statutes, and supports the therapist's role in client safety, recognition of exploitation, and compliance with legal reporting requirements. Instruction is provided in both live and self directed (home study) formats, and learning is evaluated through a post course assessment.