Child trafficking and exploitation: Historical roots, preventive policies, and the Pediatrician's role

Pediatricians are uniquely and well positioned to recognize risk factors for and experiences of labor and sex trafficking in children. While clinical and social interventions are well discussed in the literature, the underlying mechanisms that cause and contribute to trafficking are poorly addressed among healthcare professionals. A “colorblind” or otherwise “apolitical” approach to trafficking prevention is ineffective and may be detrimental to the patient-practitioner relationship. Pediatricians must be historico-socially aware of the contexts in which they practice to improve the health of pediatric populations. This article addresses the relevant trafficking legal terminology that may be unfamiliar to most pediatricians and focuses on a few “ism”-schisms (capitalism, racism, sexism, cis-heteronormativity, nativism, and classism) that create vulnerability to trafficking in pediatric populations. The article closes with some intervention recommendations and many more prevention-measure recommendations.