Providers are in a unique position to identify, care for, and help victims of trafficking. Here's what to watch for — and what you can do if your patient may be a victim.
Posted in Articles on Thursday, April 2, 2026
Providers, interacting with patients, have the inherent opportunity to identify victims of trafficking and provide important physical and psychological care for them while in captivity and after. Their assessment and interview skills, by nature, can help to identify victims of trafficking.1
The Department of Justice provides a list [PDF] of possible clues that someone may be a victim of trafficking:
- Evidence of being controlled
- Evidence of an inability to move or leave a job
- Bruises or other signs of battering
- Fear of deportation
- Non–English speaking
- Recently brought to this country
- Lack of passport, immigration, or identification documents
Victims are likely to present with minor vague complaints, often with signs of physical trauma. Substance abuse, poverty, mental illness, and social isolation are common. Dental complaints are frequent. Look for tattoos of men’s names and bar codes at the nape of the neck.2
The U.S. Department of State provides a list of questions that many help identify a trafficking:
- What type of work do you do?
- Are you free to come and go?
- What is it like where you work?
- Are you paid for your work?
- Where do you sleep and eat?
- Are there locks on doors and windows so you cannot go out?
- Where are your friends or family?
- Have you or your family been threatened? Hurt?
- Has you identification or documentation been taken from you?
Once a victim of trafficking is identified, the provider and patient will need to put together a plan of care. The provider should check their local state guidelines and be aware of the following: 1) the provider cannot force the victim to report the crime, and 2) the victim and/or victim’s family may be at risk for immense harm if she reports the crime. If the victim is a minor, the provider is under legal obligation to phone child protective services.1
Additional Resources
For patients:
- National Human Trafficking Resource Center: 1-888-373-7888
- Department of Justice Human Trafficking Office: 1-888-428-7581
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s hotline: 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
For providers:
1. Tiffany Dovydaitis, Human Trafficking: The Role of the Health Care Provider, National Library of Medicine, June 29, 2011, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3125713/
2. Pinaki Mukherji, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, Recognizing Human Trafficking Victims in the Emergency Department, Emergency Medicine Reports, March 1, 2015, https://www.clinician.com/articles/134799-recognizing-human-trafficking-victims-in-the-emergency-department