Health and counter-trafficking experts from around the world are
meeting this week in Geneva to discuss new guidelines for health
professionals on how to manage the health consequences of human
trafficking.

Participants from international organizations, NGOs and
universities include physicians, psychiatrists and practitioners
specializing in managing the complex health needs of victims of
trafficking. "These experts have been working together to draft the
guidelines over the past several months," says IOM's Rosilyne
Borland.

The workshop is part of a project led by IOM's Migration Health
Department in the framework of the UN Global Initiative to Fight
Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT).

The harm caused by human trafficking ranges from physical
injury, such as cuts or broken bones, to less visible problems,
such as infections, internal injuries and often profound
psychological damage. For many victims, the physical and
psychological aftermath can be severe and enduring. For
practitioners, diagnosing and treating victims can be very
challenging. 

The guidelines, which will be published later this year, will be
an important tool both for health professionals working with people
who have been trafficked, and those who come into contact with
victims still in a trafficking situation.

They aim to provide practical, non-clinical advice to help
concerned professionals understand the phenomenon of human
trafficking, recognize some of the associated health problems and
consider safe and appropriate approaches to providing healthcare to
victims.

"Health practitioners who encounter a trafficked person have a
unique opportunity to provide necessary medical care and vital
referral assistance options, and a chance to reassure trafficked
persons that they are not to blame for what has happened," says Dr.
Cathy Zimmerman of the London School for Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, one of the authors of the guidelines.

For more information please contact:

Rosilyne Borland

IOM Headquarters

Tel. +41 22 717 9234

E-mail: "mailto:rborland@iom.int">rborland@iom.int