Preventing Child Trafficking: A Public Health Approach

Abstract

Preventing Child Trafficking: A Public Health Approach, published in 2019, is written by two experts on human trafficking of children: Jonathan Todres, Distinguished University Professor at Georgia State University College of Law, and Angela Diaz, professor of adolescent health at the Icahn School of Medicine and director of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center in New York City. Since the book’s publication, the world has changed dramatically, with the emergence in 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased visibility of rampant, systemic racism. These developments underscore the importance of the central message of Preventing Child Trafficking—that prevention must be prioritized in addressing human trafficking of children and that a public health approach is essential in doing so. The authors make their case methodically, with a detailed review of laws, policies, and programs; careful attention to the burgeoning body of relevant evidence; and useful real-life illustrations drawn from their extensive experience with children and adolescents who have been trafficked. At the outset, Todres and Diaz provide useful discussion of terminology, definitions, and the focus of the book. This discussion highlights important issues. For example, use of the word “child” in the title and throughout the book has both advantages and drawbacks. Its use is consistent with terminology in international treaties, U.S. laws, and many official policies and reports. In that context, it refers to individuals under the age of 18 years. This usage is also reflected in a growing concern about exploitation of “children,” not only among policymakers but also on the part of the public. At the same time, as the authors acknowledge, the 18th birthday is often irrelevant when examining who is trafficked. The reality is that many “adolescents,” “youth,” and “young adults” who are over the age of 18 are trafficked and exploited in the same ways as younger children and adolescents who not yet age 18. Even though the terminology does not correspond to legal definitions, addressing the needs of these age groups is just as important when implementing a public health approach to trafficking. The focus of Preventing Child Trafficking, as the authors explain, is primarily on sex trafficking. This foregoes an opportunity to do a deeper exploration of the intersection of sex and labor trafficking and of public health implications and potential with respect to labor trafficking. Addressing forced labor and labor trafficking is an essential component of an effective public health approach to trafficking for several reasons. The risk factors and root causes are similar to those of sex trafficking, and the adverse health consequences are also similar in both nature and severity. The authors acknowledge this and do a good job of highlighting the specific ways in which human trafficking touches all of us—in the clothes and other products we buy, the food we eat—many of which involve forced labor or labor trafficking. Their positioning of the