Relates to the identification and assessment of human trafficking victims

Section two provides the effective date.

Justification

The facts are well known. Human trafficking is a $32 billion industry, and is the second-largest criminal industry after drug dealing. The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention estimates that as many as 300,000 children each year are at risk of sexual exploitation, with the average age of commercial sexual exploitation starting at age 13 or 14.

According to the Polaris Project, using data collected by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline, between 2001 and 2012 New York, California, Texas and Florida received the most potential reports of human trafficking, with New York City identified as a hub for human trafficking. "New York's large immigrant population, close proximity to major international airports and other ports of entry, and its concentration of formal and informal industries that lack close regulation all contribute to the prevalence of human trafficking in the state." (Human Trafficking Search, "Top 4 States for Human Trafficking," Sarah Pierce, November 14, 2014). Young girls and boys, women and men, are victimized in our neighborhoods, whether urban, suburban, or rural, and regardless of socio-economic level, and are recruited through deception, by guile and force, by traffickers on the streets and in an assortment of venues, including local train and bus stations, schools and shopping malls.

Yet even though trafficking victims may be among us, we do not see them. And although victims may seek medical care at clinics, hospitals and doctor's offices, physicians may be missing the signs that a person may be a trafficking victim. According to Dr. Douglas Chin, director of outreach for Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans (PATH), "there is a huge disparity in the number of victims seeking help and the doctors who could recognize them." According to Chin, 87% of trafficking victims have had contact with a healthcare provider while being trafficked. Nevertheless, fewer than 10% of doctors recognize trafficking victims and fewer than 3% of ER doctors have received training in recognition and action.

As awareness of trafficking grows and more physicians become trained in recognizing indicators of trafficking, physicians believe that some of the persons seeking medical care they encountered were likely trafficking victims. In addition to risk factors related to background and personal history that may be revealed during a visit, physical evidence such as bruises, tattoos, brands and burns as well as psychological signs such as extreme anxiety, PTSD symptoms, anger and belligerency may indicate the person is a trafficking victim.

According to Chin, victims are often marked for ownership, sometimes with ink like barcodes, dollar signs and names of male captors, or may have signs of beating, scars and orthopedic trauma. "The worst thing we can do is give them a pill to pop for their problem and say they don't need to follow up. We need to find ways to bring them back to the clinic." ("Most Doctors Couldn't Spot a Human Trafficking Victim If They Saw One. Could You?" Jenna Birch, Yahoo Health, March 18, 2015.)

Individuals and organizations, including PATH, the American Medical Women's Association and HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, Linkage) Trafficking, across the healthcare community, from clinical practice, public health, global health, and academia to government, are joining together to call for and work toward improving the health sector response to prevent human trafficking and promote comprehensive services to trafficking victims. Essential to this effort is training and education of health care professionals to recognize trafficking victims and provide the appropriate care.

This bill will require health care facilities whose services may be sought at some point by a trafficking victim, such as a hospital, public health center, outpatient department or treatment center, to establish policies and procedures to identify, treat and refer potential human trafficking victims so that standardized and safe practices are in place and, with appropriate training, the health professionals who are most likely to come into contact with a potential victim will not only recognize the signs that indicate the person seeking treatment may be a potential victim but will also know what to do to provide the appropriate care and referral to help the victim escape her or his life of violence and enslavement.

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

Minimal.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately; provided however, that effective immediately, the commissioner of health may make regulations and take other actions necessary to implement this act on its effective date.