Almost nobody discloses trafficking in answer to a question about trafficking. The word carries legal weight, the person may not apply it to themselves, and in many settings saying it aloud in a clinic is unsafe.
What gets answers is the ordinary sequence: what work do you do, who arranged it, are you paid directly, can you leave, do you hold your own documents, where do you sleep. Those are neutral questions that fit inside any history, and the answers to the last three are where the concern usually surfaces.
If something does surface, the next step is not a referral form — it is deciding, with the person, whether they are safe to leave the building, and documenting the mental state you have just assessed. A fifth of survivors in today's meta-analysis had attempted suicide, so risk assessment happens in the same conversation, not at a later appointment.
- Use plain questions about work, pay, documents and freedom to leave
- Ask when the person is alone — accompanying adults may be the reason they are there
- Assess suicide risk in the same consultation, not at a follow-up
- Record what was said in the patient's own words
- Know your local referral route before you need it, not after
Why it matters
The screening question most services use is the one least likely to be answered.
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