CHCS Perspectives Summer/Fall 2013

PERSPECTIVES • SUMMER-FALL 2013 – Page 26 fter attending the NSU Child Health Policy Forum in 2010, Brianna Kent, Ph.D., San- drine Gaillard-Kenney, Ed.D., and Rose Colón, Ph.D., administrators and faculty members in the Department of Health Science, developed a profound interest in fighting human trafficking and raising aware- ness of the issue in South Florida. Few people realize that human trafficking is a reality in the United States and in our own state of Florida. The Department of Justice and the Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking identify Florida as one of the three major hubs for human trafficking ( stophu- mantrafficking.org ). Broward County is identified as a destination for labor, sex trafficking, and domestic minor sex trafficking. In fact, the Broward County Pub- lic Schools Office of Prevention Programs warns that domestic minors can be sexually trafficked as young as the age of 13. In 2011, Drs. Kent, Colón, and Gaillard-Kenney were awarded a President’s Faculty Research and Develop- ment Grant to train faculty members in the College of Health Care Sciences and College of Nursing on the signs and symptoms of human trafficking. As they em- barked on this journey, they created projectHEAT (Health Educators Against Human Trafficking) with a vi- sion to “equip current and future health care profession- als with skills to identify victims of human trafficking resulting in increased reporting and referrals to appro- priate health and social services.” They became members of the Broward Human Traf- ficking Coalition and collaboratively developed human trafficking training modules for faculty members. Distin- guished speakers invited to present to faculty members included agents from the Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion and Department of Homeland Security, Assistant United States Attorneys, Immokalee Coalition Farm Workers, the chief of emergency medicine for Broward Health, the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Chris Evert Children’s Hospital at Broward Health, and child- victim advocates from Kristy House. From appearing on the television show Dateline: Health with Dr. Fred Lippman, chancellor of the NSU Health Professions Division, to speaking on the radio show All Points Bulletin with Al Lamberti, former Broward County sheriff, Drs. Kent, Gaillard-Kenney, and Colón increased awareness of human trafficking in the South Florida community. Their efforts recently attracted the attention of the Miami Council for International Visi- tors—an organization that works closely with the United States Department of State. This office helps to imple- ment a professional and cultural exchange program known as the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Emerging leaders from around the world are brought to Miami and other cities to meet with their pro- fessional counterparts to exchange best practices in their fields. All of the participants are hand selected by the U.S. embassy in their country. The IVLP organized a project with six delegates from Azerbaijan, who were invited to Miami on a project en- titled Combating Trafficking in Persons. The delegates represented the Azerbaijani Labor Legislation Division, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Ministry of Labor and So- cial Protection of Population and Regional Development Public Union. The Azerbaijani delegation came to Fort Lauderdale and met with local experts and organizations to discuss the U.S. response to fighting human traffick- ing and initiatives to increase the public’s awareness of trafficking victims. On March 29, 2013, the Azerbaijani delegates met with Drs. Gaillard-Kenney and Kent from projectHEAT to specifically discuss the team’s efforts to equip current and future health care professionals with the knowledge and skills to identify victims of human trafficking. Drs. Gaillard-Kenney and Kent were fascinated to learn that Azerbaijan faces the same issues emerging from the lack of community awareness of human trafficking, which is a tremendous obstacle to effective prevention in South Florida. The members of projectHEAT are committed to their research in the area of human trafficking prevention and identification. Drs. Gaillard-Kenney and Kent focus on raising awareness of human trafficking among South Florida health care professionals and the local commu- nity. Dr. Colón is collaborating with community members and the Broward Human Trafficking Coalition to design an effective intake tool that will assist the identification of potential victims of human trafficking. Through pro- jectHEAT, Drs. Gaillard-Kenney, Kent, and Colón work toward making a difference in the fight against modern- day slavery. HEALTH SCIENCES By Brianna Kent, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Health Science Fort Lauderdale A Health Sciences’ Faculty Members Turn Up the HEAT on Human Trafficking