Mr. Speaker, today during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, I introduced the Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act along with my colleagues…
Mr. Speaker, today during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, I introduced the Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act along with my colleagues Representatives Adam Kinzinger, Tony Cardenas and Ann Wagner. It is a companion to S. 1446, which was introduced by Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Susan Collins. This bipartisan bill supports efforts underway at the Department of Health and Human Services to combat human trafficking by directing the Secretary to establish a pilot program to be known as `Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond to Health and Wellness Training' to provide training on human trafficking to health care providers at all levels.
Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that uses force, fraud or coercion to lure millions of men, women and children in countries around the world annually, including here in the United States. Human trafficking includes both sex and labor trafficking, and generates billions of dollars in profits each year, making it the second most profitable form of transnational crime behind drug trafficking.
Recognizing the key indicators of human trafficking is the first step in identifying victims, providing life-saving help and bringing traffickers to justice. Human trafficking, however, is a hidden crime and victims rarely seek help because of cultural barriers or out of fear of their traffickers or law enforcement.
While victims are often difficult to identify, a reported 68 percent of trafficking victims end up in a health care setting at some point while being exploited, including in clinics, emergency rooms and doctor's offices. Despite this, out of more than 5,680 hospitals in the country, only 60 have been identified as having a plan for treating patients who are victims of trafficking and 95 percent of emergency room personnel are not trained to treat trafficking victims.
Our bill aims to ensure health care professionals are trained to identify and assist victims of human trafficking, and help close the gap in health care settings without plans for treating trafficking victims. I want to urge my colleagues to pass this important legislation so that health care professionals can better identify trafficking victims, provide victim centered care and help bring perpetrators of human trafficking to justice with the help of law enforcement as well as social and victims service agencies and organizations.
