On a recent night at Huntington Hospital on Long Island, a woman came in complaining of neck injuries. She was in distress and became combative with emergency room staffers. As Judy Richter, a social worker at Northwell Health, came to help, she and the staff realized the woman had bruises around her neck — someone had tried to strangle her. To get matters under control, staff issued a code gray, a call to security personnel to help defuse the situation.
Richter quickly realized that detaining the woman wouldn’t be the right move. Given her injuries and emotions,
Richter suspected that she may be a victim of human trafficking. Instead of calling the police, she guided the woman to programs and services for people snared in human trafficking’s net.
“It’s important to realize that when people have had a traumatic experience, they can be hypersensitive,” says Wilonda Green, program manager of Northwell’s trauma-informed, victim-centered human trafficking task force program. This initiative began in 2017, and it teaches employees at Northwell clinics and facilities the warning signs of human trafficking.
The reason Richter knew how to de-escalate the situation is that she had been through trauma-informed care training thanks to the the human trafficking task force program.
Human trafficking is the exploitation of people for profit and a form of modern-day slavery, says Santhosh Paulus, MD, a family medicine practitioner and an assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
“The mission of the Northwell human trafficking task force program is to provide a medical safe haven for survivors and those at risk of human trafficking, and to create such an environment at the local, national, and global level to educate, promote advocacy, respond, and train,” he said.
The numbers have been rising over the last four years, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888 or Text 233733). Since 2007 New York has had nearly 11,000 people reach out about trafficking issues.
The abuse can be difficult to identify in the community because it takes so many forms: forced labor at a nail salon or sex work at a massage parlor in Queens, for example, or unpaid agricultural laborers on a farm in Suffolk County. It can even be laborers outside a home improvement store who pay a “tax” to line up for the possibility of day work. The official definition of human trafficking is simply the illegal exploitation of a person.
“Here in the United States, both U.S. residents and foreign nationals are being bought and sold like modern-day slaves,” says Vincent Cunningham, senior director of community outreach and community relations for Northwell’s Department of Community and Population Health. “Traffickers use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to exploit victims. Victims are forced to work as prostitutes or to take jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant or factory workers with little or no pay. Human trafficking is a heinous crime that exploits the most vulnerable in society.”
FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
How Health Systems can Fight Human Trafficking
"The mission of the Northwell human trafficking task force program is to provide a medical safe haven for survivors and those at risk of human trafficking, and to create such an environment at the local, national, and global level to educate, promote advocacy, respond, and train."
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The urgency and severity of the problem has spurred Northwell to respond. Through awareness and training, the human trafficking task force program has become a part of a growing movement in rallying the health care industry to combat the social injustice of human trafficking and recognize that this is a public health issue.
“This is truly a ‘glocal’ problem,” says Dr. Paulus, in reference to the issue’s roots. “Human trafficking is a $150 billion illegal global industry with the effects being felt in every neighborhood.”
Northwell was recently selected as one of six health care systems nationwide to participate in a pilot study by the United Nations through Global Strategic Operatives for the Eradication of Human Trafficking. The study will aid the World Health Organization in creating a standardized set of protocols and provide guidelines aimed at properly identifying human trafficking victims and helping them get to safety.
Even as they are at the forefront of an international movement, Northwell is making a difference in local communities every day. Human trafficking targets the poor and economically unstable, those left desperate by forces outside their control — where they were born and their socioeconomic status — the marginalized who may have no other place to turn.
Often, the victims of human trafficking are immigrants promised a better life in America, only to have their passports taken and be forced into manual labor or sex work. Yet, just as common, victims of human trafficking can be people from your own community without any other opportunity. This disparity is why raising awareness about human trafficking where we live and work is the first line of defense.
Health care systems like Northwell are in a unique position to help, too. Studies show that up to 88% of human-trafficking victims pass through the health care system at one point or another. Having the awareness to recognize potential victims — like the strangled woman in Huntington’s ER — and then making the resources available to help are key components of the the human trafficking task force program.
Some of the many signs of human trafficking that trainees learn to identify in patients include:
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“For me personally, I have to get away from the darkness sometimes,” said Paulus, whose nonprofit cycling4change.org uses bicycling to raise money and awareness to help end human trafficking. “What gives me hope is how awareness brings people together. Hope changes everything.”
For Green, it’s the chance to help people like the woman in the ER, who returned multiple times, always asking for Richter — the social worker — by name. For patients who have experienced trauma, going to a hospital or medical office can be scary. Trauma-informed care promotes a culture of safety, empowerment, and healing, which Richter was able to provide for this patient. The two built a rapport, and at Richter’s encouragement, the woman reconnected with her estranged sister and looked into programs to help her escape human trafficking. Everything was set, with housing all arranged when, in the 11th hour, the woman disappeared. Though the result was heartbreaking, Green sees their involvement as a step in the right direction.
“We’re not here to be heroes,” she says, “we’re here to empower
victims to make their own decisions. Our focus is on providing trauma-informed care. The identification of ‘trafficking’ is not as important as finding out what the needs are of each individual in our care and then connecting them to those resources. That’s what victim-centered care is about.”
The future remains uncertain, and the horrors of human trafficking will continue in the short run. However, Green, Cunningham, and Paulus are hopeful that with programs like the human trafficking task force, combined with new international partnerships and a continued emphasis on trauma-informed, victim-centered care, the hold of human trafficking on our most vulnerable will begin to loosen. As that happens one case at a time, Northwell will be here for survivors.
“As a program, the human trafficking task force is just as much about caring for survivors as it is preventing new victims,” says Green. “We’ll be implementing job placement within Northwell, interview and résumé-building skills, mentorships, education, tattoo removal — we are a safe haven that provides survivors with all the resources they need.” To learn more about Northwell’s human trafficking task force program, visit huntington.northwell.edu.
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Sharing a scripted or inconsistent history
An unwillingness to answer questions about their injury or illness
Being accompanied by an individual who won't let them speak for themselves
Being unable to provide their address or identification; and being unaware of their location
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The strategies of the program — education of providers, community outreach, workforce engagement, clinical integration, and research and policy advocacy — face constant challenges that look likely to increase in light of current events.
“The reality is, what’s going on globally with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this will cause more trafficking,” says Paulus. “Any time there’s a large diaspora, people are there looking to take advantage of the situation. These individuals exploit the vulnerable during normal times — it’s even easier during times of chaos.”
All three health experts, Green, Paulus and Cunningham, admit that the intractable nature of the situation can start to feel grim. But there is still more to do in the fight against human trafficking.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
Call (888) 373-7888 or Text: “Help” or “Info” to 233733.
Children of the Night provides intervention in the lives of children who are sexually exploited and vulnerable.
Call (800) 551-1300.
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victims to make their own decisions. Our focus is on providing trauma-informed care. The identification of ‘trafficking’ is not as important as finding out what the needs are of each individual in our care and then connecting them to those resources. That’s what victim-centered care is about.”
The future remains uncertain, and the horrors of human trafficking will continue in the short run. However, Green, Cunningham, and Paulus are hopeful that with programs like the human trafficking task force, combined with new international partnerships and a continued emphasis on trauma-informed, victim-centered care, the hold of human trafficking on our most vulnerable will begin to loosen. As that happens one case at a time, Northwell will be here for survivors.
“As a program, the human trafficking task force is just as much about caring for survivors as it is preventing new victims,” says Green. “We’ll be implementing job placement within Northwell, interview and résumé-building skills, mentorships, education, tattoo removal — we are a safe haven that provides survivors with all the resources they need.” To learn more about Northwell’s the human trafficking task force program, visit huntington.northwell.edu.
The strategies of the program — education of providers, community outreach, workforce engagement, clinical integration, and research and policy advocacy — face constant challenges that look likely to increase in light of current events.
“The reality is, what’s going on globally with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this will cause more trafficking,” says Paulus. “Any time there’s a large diaspora, people are there looking to take advantage of the situation. These individuals exploit the vulnerable during normal times — it’s even easier during times of chaos.”
All three health experts, Green, Paulus and Cunningham, admit that the intractable nature of the situation can start to feel grim. But there is still more to do in the fight against human trafficking.
“For me personally, I have to get away from the darkness sometimes,” said Paulus, whose nonprofit cycling4change.org uses bicycling to raise money and awareness to help end human trafficking. “What gives me hope is how awareness brings people together. Hope changes everything.”
For Green, it’s the chance to help people like the woman in the ER, who returned multiple times, always asking for Richter — the social worker — by name. For patients who have experienced trauma, going to a hospital or medical office can be scary. Trauma-informed care promotes a culture of safety, empowerment, and healing, which Richter was able to provide for this patient. The two built a rapport, and at Richter’s encouragement, the woman reconnected with her estranged sister and looked into programs to help her escape human trafficking. Everything was set, with housing all arranged when, in the 11th hour, the woman disappeared. Though the result was heartbreaking, Green sees their involvement as a step in the right direction.
“We’re not here to be heroes,” she says, “we’re here to empower
"The mission of the Northwell human trafficking task force program is to provide a medical safe haven for survivors and those at risk of human trafficking, and to create such an environment at the local, national, and global level to educate, promote advocacy, respond, and train."