More efforts are underway on the state and federal levels to fight human trafficking, Dr. Atkinson said.
All states have criminal laws that address human trafficking, and 14 states now have educational laws specifically about trafficking. In late April, the U.S. Senate passed a measure that would increase penalties on human trafficking.
In addition, AMWA recently launched Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans (PATH) to help educate health providers about trafficking in their communities. The PATH website includes resources for physicians and an online video about trafficking that doctors can share with their practices and colleagues.
“As physicians, we are trained to act, and we’re trained to solve problems,” AMWA Immediate Past Resident President Kanani Titchen said in the video. “It’s important in these situations to remember that we are not going to fix this person’s life in one visit. Many of these patients have been in their situations for years, and many times the path to recovery is a long one, and we are one stepping stone in that path. It’s important to listen to our patients, to provide the information that they need, the resources that they need, and it’s important for us as physicians, to know what those resources are.”
*Clarification, 6/3/2015: This story was updated to reflect a more accurate estimate of children at risk for sex trafficking.
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