Human Trafficking: The Health of Men Forced into Labor Trafficking in the United States

Human trafficking is a criminal act that occurs globally. It affects both women and men, but most studies have focused on female victims; few have explored trafficked men or their related health issues. Though there are many forms of trafficking, it is believed that most male victims are trafficked as forced labor. Using gender schema theory as a framework, this quantitative study examined archival data to identify the types of trafficking men are subjected to, their health ailments, and how these differ from the health ailments of trafficked women. Archival data from 124 individuals subjected to human trafficking in Florida were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis, one-way ANOVA, Mann Whitney U, and Fisher's exact tests. Findings indicated that males were more likely to have been labor trafficked compared to other forms of trafficking, and that labor trafficked persons were not more susceptible to health ailments than were sex trafficked persons. Also, there was a significant difference in health conditions between male and female victims, with females reporting more issues such as malnourishment, skin rash, and anxiety. These findings help to alter the misperception that men are traffickers only by recognizing them to be victims as well. Implications for social change include increased awareness of male trafficking in health care policies and human trafficking prevention efforts.