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Child Trafficking Case 1

History
You are evaluating a 17 year-old female in your outpatient clinic. She has a history of upper respiratory infection and is accompanied by her boyfriend.

On physical exam you notice this tattoo:

www.Tattoospedia.com

You ask the patient about the tattoo, but she clearly does not want to talk about it. When you ask about her living circumstances, you get vague responses from her boyfriend. She is paying for the exam out of pocket.

Concern
You are concerned about sex trafficking.

• The tattoo looks trafficking-specific.
• The answers to your questions are vague or the patient doesn’t want to answer your questions (guarded historian).
• The patient is accompanied by a boyfriend who is speaking for her.

What is the first thing you would do?

1. Make a report to the Child Abuse Hotline.
2. Ask the patient if she would like any additional testing regarding other concerns she might have (e.g., HIV testing, STI testing).
3. Ask the patient’s boyfriend to leave the room in order to ask her more questions about her situation.

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