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Health, Education, Advocacy, Leadership

Heal Trafficking

is a global leader in addressing human trafficking through a public health lens. Our evidence-based, survivor-centered approach equips healthcare professionals to recognize, respond to, and prevent human trafficking.

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HEAL Trafficking’s Education & Training Services

Need specialized assistance, training for your organization, or an expert speaker? HEAL is available to help you develop comprehensive, survivor-centered response protocols and training programs.

Explore Education & Training Services

Speakers’ Bureau

Our Speakers' Bureau should be your organization’s first step for Human Trafficking education. We tailor our engaging keynote speeches, presentations, and discussions to your event to help raise awareness, train your team, and inspire action.

About the Speakers' Bureau
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Technical Assistance

The second of our advanced educational services, our Technical Assistance program empowers organizations to identify and respond to individuals experiencing human trafficking while addressing the root causes behind what puts individuals, families, and communities at risk of trafficking.

About Technical Assistance
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Train the Trainer Academy

Our advanced two-day Train the Trainer Academy is led by faculty with both lived experience and health, trafficking, and medical expertise. It equips your health educators with the knowledge and skills needed to train others in responding to human trafficking.

About Train the Trainer Academy

HEAL Trafficking’s Tools & Resources

Our three flagship resources equip healthcare providers and training program developers with critical tools for helping professionals in the health space recognize and respond to human trafficking with a human-centered approach.

View All Resources
Three blue and white workbooks stack on top of each other. Text on the cover reads, 'Protocol Toolkit for Developing a Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in Health Care Settings.' Below the text are logos for HEAL and Hope for Justice.

Human Trafficking Protocol Toolkit

The Protocol Toolkit helps health institutions develop protocols for responding to human trafficking and is flexibly designed for a variety of healthcare settings, including emergency departments, hospitals, clinics, private offices, or school-based health centers.

Explore the Protocol Toolkit
A stack of cards with the heading, 'PEARR Steps.' Below the heading are four bullet points that read, 'Provided privacy: Arrange private setting with patient and explain limits to confidentiality. Educate: Share info and resources in a manner that is nonjudgmental and normalizes discussion. Ask: If there are concerns of victimization, ask if patient wants to speak with community agency. Respect & respond: if patient declines, respect patient's wishes. Otherwise, facilitate referral.'

PEARR Tool for Victim Assistance in Healthcare Settings

Our PEARR tool offers a trauma-Informed approach to victim assistance in healthcare settings by directing healthcare providers on how to Provide Privacy, Educate, Ask, Respect, and Respond to individuals experiencing human trafficking, with a goal of strengthening patient-provider relationships and enhancing health, safety, and overall well-being.

Explore the PEARR Tool

Training Assessment Tool

This self-scoring rubric helps those developing human trafficking training programs evaluate the effectiveness of anti-trafficking curriculum, including assessment of the program’s comprehensiveness and identification of areas for improvement.

Explore the Assessment Tool

Why HEAL Trafficking?

Learn More About HEAL

Health

Fewer than 5% of healthcare professionals have identified trafficking among their patients despite the fact they are often the first point of contact for individuals experiencing trafficking and that 68% of trafficking survivors interact with healthcare providers during their exploitation.

Education

The right training increases identification of trafficking survivors by up to 50%, so educating healthcare providers about the complexities of trafficking and the specific needs of survivors is essential for effective intervention and support.

Advocacy

By collaborating with industry leaders and influencing legislation and policies, effective advocacy improves how society addresses human trafficking, helps prevent further exploitation, ensures survivors receive the support they need to rebuild their lives, and eliminates systemic barriers to their recovery.

Leadership

Building strong networks among professionals in healthcare, law enforcement, social services, government, and the nonprofit sector helps address the multifaceted nature of trafficking to help prevent trafficking while ensuring survivors receive comprehensive support.

HEAL’s Global Impact By the Numbers

View HEAL's 2023 Annual Report
300

Number of professionals that our flagship Train the Trainer program has educated, collectively training over 100,000 peers worldwide.

10,000

Number of individuals engaged by HEAL’s Human Trafficking 101 presentation, whether remotely or in-person.

7,500

Number of global downloads of HEAL’s evidence-based Protocol Toolkit, empowering healthcare professionals to develop survivor-centered response protocols.

5,500

Number of professionals that exchange and share best practices in HEAL’s Community.

Blog

The Latest HEAL Trafficking Events & Updates

Browse our latest webinar recordings, upcoming events, research announcements, HEAL advocacy updates, and more.

Browse all Events & Updates
Events & Recaps
February 19, 2025

Join Us for HEAL Hour: Labor Trafficking & the PEARR Approach

We’re excited to introduce our new webinar series, The HEAL Hour, a dynamic space for professionals to gather, learn, and engage with experts on critical issues in eradicating trafficking. This free offering from HEAL expands our commitment to providing valuable resources to our community.
Research & Resources
January 21, 2025

HEAL and Cast LA's Guide to Compliance with California SB 963

Created in partnership with Cast LA, the SB 963 Guide – 5 Initial Steps to Compliance provides hospitals with clear strategies to implement SB 963. It offers steps for creating private spaces, adopting survivor-centered policies, training staff, and building local partnerships for survivor support.
Research & Resources
October 12, 2023

Health workers are in a unique position to help identify human trafficking - a BMJ commentary co-authored by HEAL

HEAL News
July 28, 2022

HEAL Trafficking Impact Report

Research & Resources
March 10, 2021

Core Competencies for Human Trafficking Response in Health Care and Behavioral Health Systems

Research & Resources
February 3, 2021

Documenting ICD Codes and Other Sensitive Information in Electronic Health Records

Webinars & Podcasts
January 15, 2020

American Hospital Association podcast: Experts give update on human trafficking fight, awareness

Ashley Garrett, director of the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center, Hanni Stoklosa, M.D., executive director and co-founder of HEAL Trafficking, Laura Castellanos, AHA associate director and lead for the association's Hospitals Against Violence initiative.
Research & Resources
December 10, 2019

H.E.A.T. Institute - HEAL Trafficking - Levitt Center: Human Trafficking Response Protocols

Research & Resources
December 2, 2019

Background Paper for Exploring the Development of a U.S. Department of Labor Research Strategy on Child Labor and Forced Labor in International Settings

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Looking for more articles and resources to support your work in recognizing and responding to human trafficking? Our bi-weekly bulletin will keep you up to date on the latest healthcare research as it relates to human trafficking. As a bonus, our monthly newsletter keeps you in the loop with all things HEAL.

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Support HEAL Trafficking

Support HEAL's mission by donating to our cause. Together, we can make a significant impact in healing the world of human trafficking.

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