Executive Summary
- Advocates are petitioning the Ohio Board of Nursing to require a one-hour human trafficking training course for nurses.
- Data from the Polaris Project indicates that nearly 90% of trafficking victims seek healthcare at some point.
- The Ohio Nurses Association expressed cautious support, warning against training becoming a mere “box-checking” exercise.
- The Ohio Board of Nursing declined to comment on the proposed mandate.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A coalition of advocates and healthcare professionals is petitioning the Ohio Board of Nursing to mandate specific training designed to help nurses identify and assist victims of human trafficking. The group, which includes a trafficking survivor and forensic nurses, argues that a regulatory requirement for continuing education could significantly improve identification rates in clinical settings.
Annette Mango, a survivor of human trafficking, stated that despite frequent interactions with hospital staff during her 15-year ordeal, medical personnel failed to recognize her situation. “No one looked at me as if I needed help,” Mango told 10 Investigates. She is now joined by forensic nurse Heather Wilde and Bowling Green State University nursing professor Lara Wilken in urging the state board to implement a mandatory one-hour continuing education course for nurses.
According to data from the Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking, nearly 90% of victims interact with healthcare professionals at some point during their exploitation. Advocates argue this presents a critical window for intervention that is currently being missed due to a lack of specialized training.
Wilken noted that nurses are trained in trauma-informed care but often lack the specific skills to spot trafficking indicators. “We have to understand how to speak to [victims] and be nonjudgmental,” Wilde added. The advocates highlighted specific red flags medical staff should look for, such as patients who avoid eye contact, appear fearful, or are accompanied by a controlling individual who speaks on their behalf.
The Ohio Board of Nursing, which has the authority to mandate such training, declined to comment on the proposal when contacted by reporters. However, the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) expressed openness to the concept. ONA President Rick Lucas stated that while the association is not opposed to the idea, he cautioned against implementation that feels like a bureaucratic formality. “If we go down the road of mandating continuing education for nurses, it could get very prescriptive where people are just checking the boxes,” Lucas said, noting that the ONA already offers its own voluntary training on the subject.
Regulatory and Clinical Implications
The push for mandatory trafficking training highlights the evolving role of healthcare providers as frontline observers in criminal matters. By integrating forensic awareness into standard nursing education, advocates aim to bridge the gap between clinical care and victim services. If adopted, such a mandate would require the state licensing board to balance the administrative burden on medical staff with the public safety imperative of improving victim identification protocols within Ohio’s healthcare system.
