Elsevier

Nursing Outlook

Volume 66, Issue 4, July–August 2018, Pages 407-411
Nursing Outlook

American Academy of Nursing on Policy, Council for the Advancement of Nursing Sciences
Policy brief on the nursing response to human trafficking

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2018.06.004Get rights and content

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Executive Summary

Human trafficking is a public health emergency affecting an estimated 12 to 30 million people globally. Given that 85% of trafficked victims have contact with health care providers in any year, nurses are critical to: the identification of trafficked persons; effective promotion of their physical, mental, and cognitive health; development and implementation of practice guidelines; implementation of research to inform bestpractices globally; and championing public policy initiatives at local,

Background

Human trafficking is a public health emergency (Krug etal., 2002, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2015) affecting an estimated 12 to 30 million people globally and is part of a $32 billion illicit business enterprise (Meinert, 2012, U.S. Department of State 2014). The United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of

National Legislative Action

Examples of national legislative initiatives include the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act[s] (2013) (Polaris, 2017), which involved passage of an amendment in 2013 to the Violence Against Women Act (1994) regarding susceptible people at risk for human trafficking in disasters and emergencies, and prevention of child marriage. This legislation also created structure in the National Defense Authorization Act (2013) to prevent the use of business contracts when engaging in human

The Academy's Position

The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) supports the promotion of health and safety in persons affected by human trafficking through closure of gaps in macro and micro systems of nursing education, reflective ethics, practice improvement, systems leadership, and ongoing research related to improvement of cognitive, physical, mental, social and spiritual health outcomes.

The Academy advocates for the inclusion of Forensic Nurse experts with advanced nursing practice preparation for leadership

Recommendations

  • Promote:

    • The inclusion of advanced forensic nurses with expertise in human trafficking as members of private business boards; commercial bank boards; not-for-profit service organizations; and, government and other organization task forces, advisory boards, and technical working groups, specifically to influence health care policy, advocacy activities, and legislation related to human trafficking and to promote justice for victims of human trafficking.

    • Faculty-led scholarship indexed in the Sigma

Acknowledgments

The authors express appreciation for guidance and assistance provided by Inge Corless, PhD, RN, FAAN and Catherine Catrambone, PhD, RN, FAAN, Co-Chairs; Azita Emami, PhD, MSN, RNT, RN, FAAN, Co-Chair; Paula Milone-Nuzzo, PhD, RN, FHHC, FAAN, Board Liaison to the Global Health Expert Panel and Matthew J. Williams, JD, MA, Policy Manager and Academy Staff Liaison to the Global Health Expert Panel; and Previous Chairs: DeAnne Messias (2016–2017), Kathleen Capitulo (2015–2016), Lynn Callister

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