A Human Trafficking Summit taking place today at RCSI's Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery in Dublin will examine the role of health care professionals in identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking.

The summit will hear calls from health and voluntary agencies for human trafficking awareness training to be embedded in all healthcare-related education at undergraduate, postgraduate and continuous professional development levels.

Studies from the US, UK and Canada indicate that 87% of human trafficking victims will attend a health facility during the first year being trafficked. Less than 1% are identified. The most common services attended are accident and emergency units, maternity services and general practice.

A Health & Social Care Education and Human Trafficking group (HSCEHT) has been established to unite representatives around a call for delivery of awareness training to all students in healthcare disciplines.

The group includes representatives from a wide cross-section of interested persons from national regulatory, policy, non-governmental agencies and education including RCSI’s Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery.

A coordinated approach

The Sexual Offences Human Trafficking Act 2024 has identified the Health Service Executive (HSE) as a ‘competent authority’ for the identification of trafficking victims. A National Human Trafficking Action Plan, launched by the Minister for Justice last year, tasks the HSE with devising a voluntary trafficking awareness training programme for health and social care professionals. Additionally, the EU Parliament published an updated Directive (EU) 2024/1712 on 14 July 2024 that requires member states to offer regular and specialised training for professionals likely to come into contact with victims or potential victims of trafficking in human beings, including healthcare workers.

However, the HSCEHT group has raised concerns that many healthcare professionals are not employed by the HSE and will not have access to the planned education provisions. The group has described as “impractical and unrealistic” the expectation that a significant number of healthcare professionals can undertake education outside their normal working hours.

Dr Annette Kennedy, President Emeritus International Council of Nurses, WHO Commissioner and Chair of the HSCEHT group, said: “Research suggests that when medical providers are trained on trafficking dynamics, they are more likely to recognise a victim during a medical visit. Education on trafficking recognition in all undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development programmes will save lives.

“This can be achieved by having a policy driven national coordinated approach to the provision of education to all healthcare professionals in their undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional education.”

Observation and intervention

Human trafficking, slavery and forced labour is a global criminal activity. One estimate, from the Global Slavery Index, puts the number of victims worldwide at 40 million. In Ireland, 566 people were identified as victims of trafficking from 2013 to 2023, but the real figure is likely to be substantially higher.

“These are some of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach people in our society,” says Dr Kennedy. “Health and social care professions can be part of the solution if they are educated and trained to recognise this abuse. The Health & Social Care Education & Human Trafficking group is delighted to collaborate with the Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery to bring together key voices to highlight the issue so that we may come to shared solutions.”

Professor Mary Rose Sweeney, Executive Vice Dean for Education in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, RCSI, said: “the Faculty are delighted to host this summit in association with the HSCEHT to help raise awareness amongst health and social care professionals about the potential for victims of human trafficking to be in receipt of care in the health system and to equip them to respond appropriately if a suspicion arises.”

Commenting on the event Dr Mary Boyd, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, RCSI, highlighted: “Nurses, midwives and the entire healthcare community play an important role in the monitoring, observation, reporting and where necessary intervening with victims of human trafficking. The Faculty and RCSI are committed to enabling the education and awareness of our professions in this regard.”

Further to today’s summit, RCSI plans to announce soon, in collaboration with training partner MECPATHS, a number of educational opportunities on the topic of human trafficking which will be open to all staff working in the broader field of healthcare.

Today’s summit is part of a programme of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery at RCSI.