Recommendations to Improve Services and Supports for Domestically Sex Trafficked Persons Derived from the Insights of Health Care Providers

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic Information of Participants

Provider Type (n)	Age Range (n)	Gender (n)	Race/Ethnicity (n)	Years in Occupation (n)
Physician (9) Nurse (10) Social Worker (12)	25–39 (15) 40–54 (13) 55–69 (3)	Women (26) Men (5)	White (18) Black (3) South Asian (3) Chinese (1) First Nations (1) Jewish (2) Latino (1) Southeast Asian (1) Biracial (1)	1–5 (7) 6–10 (7) >10 (17)

Table 2 Recommendations to Improve Services and Supports for Domestically Sex Trafficked Persons Derived from the Insights of Health Care Providers

Recommendation	Anticipated Impact
Jointly mobilize an intersectoral, collaborative, and coordinated approach to sex trafficking service provision	Intersectoral, collaborative, and coordinated supports enable the smooth and rapid referral of sex trafficking survivors to what is needed; ensure a continuum of care; reduce barriers to access; and facilitate safety planning, knowledge sharing, and collective advocacy.
Establish multidisciplinary one-stop sex trafficking services	Multidisciplinary one-stop services, which provide the range of requisite supports that sex trafficked persons may access by one or more professionals in a single location, reduce barriers associated with referral processes and are uniquely responsive to survivors’ immediate concerns.
Provide access to expertise in sex trafficking	Professionals with expertise in sex trafficking have the capacity to appropriately and comprehensively respond to survivors and can guide non-specialized providers in their work, thereby reducing revictimization.
Increase access to appropriate shelter and housing options for sex trafficking survivors	Appropriate temporary and/or long-term housing is key to establishing the safety necessary to the recovery of sex trafficking survivors and facilitates access to, and their participation in, other supportive programming.
Develop and implement sex trafficking specific education and guidelines	Educational initiatives and guidelines that address sex trafficking increase service providers’ awareness of the issue, ability to identify potential survivors, and competence to effectively respond to their needs.
Secure funding for sex trafficking survivors as well as services and supports	Sufficient funding directly allocated to sex trafficking survivors allows them the option of exiting trafficking and to seek other supports when finances may be a barrier; funding the services that support sex trafficking survivors is essential.
Employ a survivor-driven approach to designing and delivering sex trafficking services	An approach that centers sex trafficking survivors at the forefront of program design and care, empowers them, and prioritizes their self-identified needs and wishes.
Prioritize positive relationships and supportive and secure spaces for sex trafficking survivors	Trust and rapport (which can take time to develop in the context of sex trafficking), as well as the provision of safe spaces, facilitate disclosure while building the requisite foundation to address sex trafficking and its impacts.