A Pacific regional response to human trafficking in the Western Pacific: Lessons learned from public health and medical outreach

A Pacific Regional Response to Human Trafficking in the Western Pacific was crafted by front-line professionals in the Western Pacific and was the basis of a Department of State project to address human trafficking networks operating in the region.  Medical and public health professionals served as key partners throughout this project to engage community discussion and outline strategies for intervention and prevention.  This presentation will discuss the challenges and strengths of the public health and medical infrastructure to provide identification and robust victim-support services to survivors of human trafficking, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, working in conjunction with human trafficking task forces in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Various complex cultural and attitudinal factors will be discussed, as well as the unique geographic factors of the region which impacted the project's reach.  The presentation will also discuss the interplay between various sectors in combatting human trafficking in the region, and the need to develop protocols and referral networks between the different sectors (public health and medical, law enforcement, criminal justice, the judiciary, education, faith-based, community-based NGOs, etc.) in different states and countries, in order to develop a strong systematic approach to providing victim-support and for prosecuting human traffickers.