Rothman et al.1 bring attention to the devastating impact of human trafficking and the importance of using public health research to thwart this illicit trade. Limitations to research undermine efforts by the health and justice systems to appropriately address the needs of potential victims. The Health, Education, Advocacy, and Linkage Trafficking Research Committee is an independent group of health professionals who have created a list of five research priorities to guide public health researchers on this topic, which Rothman et al. describe in detail.
The cost burden of human trafficking is one of the listed research priorities that is critical to understanding its economic impact on society. I would argue, however, that cost burden research should be of low priority, even when considering social and human capital losses in addition to immediate financial losses.2 Human trafficking is a lucrative business—the United Nation’s International Labor Organization estimates that, worldwide, human trafficking generates $150 billion. Two thirds of total profits are derived from sexual exploitation, the remainder from forced economic labor.3 The risk of discovering a “trivial” cost burden may overpower ethical obligations on this matter, leading to moral indifference that hurts public health research and antitrafficking efforts.
Public and professional awareness of human trafficking is one of the most powerful methods by which data can be acquired and used for public health research. The overwhelming belief that human trafficking is a third-world problem gives credence to the importance of rethinking how information on this matter is presented. Medical education is one space where screening practices for potential victims are increasingly emphasized in select residency training programs, including emergency medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and internal medicine.4 Special attention to human trafficking as a public health issue would ideally begin earlier in medical training, although a lack of valid research creates challenges in instituting a formal curriculum. Instead, emphasis should focus on human trafficking as a human rights violation that health professionals, including students in training, have a moral duty to combat. This would be similar to earnest efforts against child abuse, in which issues of cost burden are overlooked on moral grounds.
By reframing the discussion of human trafficking as an undisputed ethical responsibility and public health issue, medical and public health professionals will be better equipped to prioritize research even when unmoved by statistical evidence.
REFERENCES
- 1.Rothman EF, Stoklosa H, Baldwin SB et al. Public health research priorities to address US human trafficking. Am J Public Health. 2017;107(7):1045–1047. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303858. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Inter-American Development Bank. Human trafficking’s dirty profits and huge costs. 2006. Available at: http://www.iadb.org/en/news/webstories/2006-11-02/human-traffickings-dirty-profits-and-huge-costs, 3357.html. Accessed October 22, 2017.
- 3.International Labor Organization. ILO says forced labour generates annual profits of US$ 150 billion. 2014. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_243201/lang–en/index.htm. Accessed October 22, 2017.
- 4.Grace AM, Ahn R, Macias Konstantopoulos W. Integrating curricula on human trafficking into medical education and residency training. JAMA Pediatr. 2014;168(9):793–794. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.999. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]