Diverse groups of professionals interact with suspected minor trafficking victims and serve as important points for identification and intervention. Understanding what professionals know about these victims but also where knowledge is lacking is essential ensuring victims are identified, services provided, and traffickers are prosecuted. This presentation provides an overview of studies evaluating three groups of professionals’ knowledge of trafficking victims: healthcare, law enforcement, and attorneys. Study 1 examined trafficking knowledge and perceptions in healthcare professionals and trainees.
Training improves identification of and perceptions of minor trafficking victims in vignettes, although some professionals and trainees still endorsed myths about trafficking and blamed victims for their situation. Study 2 investigated law enforcement officers’ approaches to questioning trafficking victims, including their use of
rapport-building to encourage victim cooperation. Only a small number used rapport-building, and most relied on closed-ended and leading questions. Study 3 compared minor trafficking and sex abuse victim testimony in criminal trials. Attorneys rarely built rapport, especially with trafficking victims. Defense attorneys relied heavily on leading questions with the latter. Findings, in combination, point to important topics of value when training professionals on trafficking.
