Mercy Pilots New Program to Identify Victims of Human Trafficking

A new pilot program for hospitals to better identify potential victims of human trafficking (e.g. juvenile, adult, labor) launched in January 2015.

The program is being piloted by Mercy Medical Center which is the only hospital in the region to offer both a SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Examination) program and Family Violence Response Program.

Mercy is working in collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and two anti-trafficking non-profit groups: Baltimore-based TurnAround Inc. and FAIR Girls in D.C. 

The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force assisted 217 victims of human trafficking  in 2013. Due to its many highways and major airports, the Maryland-Virginia-D.C. area is considered a hotbed for trafficking.

According to a 2003 study published in the Journal of Epidemiology that examined female prostitutes —many of whom are trafficking victims--from 1966 to 1999 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, found that four out of five were seen by a medical professional during their time in captivity.

Despite being a multibillion dollar industry, available numbers on trafficking are estimates at best. According to the International Labor Organization’s most recent statistics, the number of people being trafficked worldwide is estimated to be 21 million.

“Red flags” include individuals who do not have control of their own documents, appear to be in distress, suffer from signs of violence, etc. The patient’s medical history can also be a sign, such as multiple abortions, treatment for multiple sexually transmitted diseases in a short time period, etc.

On Friday, Jan. 30^th, Mercy hosted a special Human Trafficking Medical Screening Protocol with assistance from the Governor’s Office  of Crime Control and Prevention, to provide education/training for medical professionals.  The meeting was held all-day in Mercy’s Truman Semans Conference Room of The Weinberg Center at Mercy in downtown Baltimore.