Jan. 11, 2016

Florida Health Engaged in Fight against Human Trafficking

Contact:
Communications Office
NewsMedia@flhealth.gov
(850) 245-4111

Tallahassee, Fla. -January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and Florida Health continues to work on its efforts to bring awareness to this travesty. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center estimates that more than 20 million people are enslaved worldwide, and Florida ranks third in the nation in the number of calls to the National Human Trafficking hotline.

Human Trafficking is a form of modern day slavery from which traffickers profit from the control and exploitation of others. Criminalized under both federal and state law, it is defined as the transporting, soliciting, recruiting, harboring, providing or obtaining of another person for transport; for the purposes of forced labor, domestic servitude or sexual exploitation using force, fraud and/or coercion. Victims of trafficking may experience a host of health-related problems and are at high risk of injury, illness and even death from the circumstances of their forced treatment and bondage. Some signs indicating someone could be the victim of human trafficking include:

· Exhibits abnormal behavior or poor mental health;· Is fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, nervous or paranoid;
· Exhibits unusually fearful or anxious behavior after bringing up law enforcement;
· Avoids eye contact;
· Is in poor physical health;
· Has few or no personal possessions;
· Is not in control of his or her own money, no financial records, or bank account;
· Is not in control of his or her own identification documents, such as ID or passport; and
· Is not allowed or able to speak for themselves.

Suspected cases of trafficking should be reported to local law enforcement immediately. Floridians can learn more about human trafficking by visiting polarisproject.org/human-trafficking.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

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