The exploitation of people for forced labor and marriage affects over 40 million worldwide, with every nation implicated in a human rights violation now termed “modern slavery.” PLOS Medicine announces the publication of a new Collection, “Human Trafficking, Exploitation and Health,” on November 22, 2017, to examine this global crisis.
Collection coordinators Cathy Zimmerman and Ligia Kiss of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine argue that labor exploitation is a public health problem that should be treated as preventable. They lay out the global reach of human trafficking and offer a public health policy framework to guide responses to it in their introductory Collection Review.
The articles in this Collection reveal some of the many ways people are exploited, including unaccompanied migrant and refugee boys in Greece, fishing industry workers in Southeast Asia, and children exploited for sex in the United States. The extreme hazards suffered by trafficked workers in high-risk sectors, such as fishing, manufacturing and domestic work, highlight the need for occupational health and safety interventions, a topic further discussed in an article that shows how specific work-related health problems can help identify victims of labor trafficking.
This Collection will grow as more articles are published. Given the magnitude of the problem – for every 1,000 people in the world between 5 and 6 people are enslaved, with 1 out of every 4 being a child – research is sorely needed for evidence-based approaches to prevention and the provision of appropriate health care.
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Collection Review
Funding:
This work was supported by UKaid from the Department for International Development, grant number PO 5732. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests:
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation:
Zimmerman C, Kiss L (2017) Human trafficking and exploitation: A global health concern. PLoS Med 14(11): e1002437. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002437
Author Affiliations:
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002437
Other Articles in the Collection:
Essay
Citation:
Freccero J, Biswas D, Whiting A, Alrabe K, Seelinger KT (2017) Sexual exploitation of unaccompanied migrant and refugee boys in Greece: Approaches to prevention. PLoS Med 14(11): e1002438. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002438
Author Affiliations:
Human Rights Center, School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America Faros, Athens, Greece; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, England
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002438
Policy Forum
Citation:
Suphanchaimat R, Pudpong N, Tangcharoensathien V (2017) Extreme exploitation in Southeast Asia waters: Challenges in progressing towards universal health coverage for migrant workers. PLoS Med 14(11): e1002441. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002441
Author Affiliations:
International Health Policy Program, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand Banphai Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand Healthcare Accreditation Institute, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand
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http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002441
Essay
Citation:
Greenbaum VJ (2017) Child sex trafficking in the United States: Challenges for the healthcare provider. PLoS Med 14(11): e1002439. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002439
Author Affiliations:
Stephanie V. Blank Center for Safe and Healthy Children, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
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http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002439
Research Article
Citation:
Pocock NS, Kiss L, Oram S, Zimmerman C (2016) Labour Trafficking among Men and Boys in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Exploitation, Violence, Occupational Health Risks and Injuries. PLoS ONE11(12): e0168500. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168500
Author Affiliations:
Gender Violence and Health Centre, Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom Section of Women’s Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
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http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0168500
Essay
Citation:
Ronda-PĂ©rez E, Moen BE (2017) Labour trafficking: Challenges and opportunities from an occupational health perspective. PLoS Med 14(11): e1002440. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002440
Author Affiliations:
Public Health Department, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain Centre for International Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002440
Media Contact
Cathy Zimmerman
cathy.zimmerman@lshtm.ac.uk
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002437