Largest U.S. Hotel Companies Work to Prevent Human Trafficking | Corporate Social Responsibility

http://www.justmeans.com/Largest-U-S-Hotel-Companies-Work-Prevent-Human-Trafficking/58562.html

Source: JustMeans.com

Largest U.S. Hotel Companies Work to Prevent Human Trafficking

America's largest hospitality companies are training their employees to spot cases of human trafficking at hotels.

Last month, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, a law that had expired in 2011 which seeks to prevent human trafficking in the United States. The day before the House vote, Governor Matt Mead signed the first anti-trafficking law in Wyoming, making his state the 50th and final U.S. state to illegalize the trafficking of individuals for commercial sex or forced labor.

Americans tend to link human trafficking with other "third world problems" like genocide and famine, but in 2011 there were 4,239 convictions in human trafficking cases across the country. Each year, between 15,000 and 60,000 individuals are brought into the United States and held against their will as victims of human trafficking.

Typical of these cases is the story of Maria, a Filipino woman who paid a large recruitment fee to come to the United States under a guest worker program. Promised housing, transportation and a lucrative job in the hospitality industry, Maria arrived to find no work and squalid living accommodations.

Maria's passport was seized and she was prevented from leaving the house. The recruiters, who were eventually indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to hold workers in a condition of forced labor, fed Maria and the other captives chicken innards and responded to their complaints with threats of deportation.

Legislative efforts like the ones passed in Wyoming and at the federal level last month have helped curtail the worst of these abuses, but equally important has been the work of hotel companies that are working to prevent trafficking-related crimes on their properties. The United States hospitality industry has coalesced around an effort by ECPAT USA, short for End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, a nonprofit that introduced the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct in 2004.

Carlson, owner of Radisson Hotels and other chains, was the first U.S. travel and hospitality company to sign "the Code," and has since been joined by the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, the Real Hospitality Group and Hilton Worldwide, among several other U.S. companies.

"Some girls are tattooed with things like 'Daddy's girl,'" a sign that she may have been branded by her captor, said Brenda Schultz, who oversees Carlson's hotel training program, in an interview with the New York Times. Schultz added that housekeeping staff at Carlson-owned hotels is trained to identify signs of prostitution, like an unusually large number of electronic devices in guest rooms or several condoms in the wastebasket.

Hilton Worldwide, which already supported several ECPAT principles before actually signed the Code in 2011, has training programs at both the leadership and department levels to teach hotel employees to identify and recognize illicit activities and better understand the issues surrounding child trafficking.

The company has also taken it a step further, working with several nonprofit organizations, including the Somaly Man Foundation, Vital Voices and Room to Read, in order "to bring more resources and opportunities to survivors as well as strengthen organizations that are on the frontlines of fighting child sex trafficking," according to Jennifer Silberman, the company's Vice President of Corporate Responsibility.

"We decided to sign the ECPAT Code because it was important for us to support the principles that prevent and mitigate child sex trafficking," Silberman told Justmeans in an email. "We support ECPAT-USA's important mission to protect children from sexual exploitation and to bring greater attention to the issues surrounding child trafficking."

Jami Day directs the corporate responsibility efforts at the Real Hospitality Group, a hotel management company. Day recently emphasized the importance of EPCAT's work in a panel discussion hosted as part of the 2013 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

"As a leader in the hospitality industry, Real Hospitality Group is proud to use our sphere of influence to do whatever we can to pragmatically impact the issue," said Day, who is a member of the ECPAT Board of Directors. "We are proud to be an ECPAT Code of Conduct signatory, taking a position of protecting those most vulnerable in our communities."

More information about ECPAT USA's work is available at the organization's website.

Image credit: Michael Gray, Flickr

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BBC - Travel - The darker side of tourism : Travel Tips

http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20130222-the-darker-side-of-tourism

Source: BBC

 

An estimated 1.2 million children are victims of trafficking each year. (Stephen Cairns/Getty)

An estimated 1.2 million children are victims of trafficking each year, and the travel industry – which criminals often use to move and enslave their victims – has become increasingly involved in trying to do something about it. Travellers can play their part, too, by being aware of suspicious activity and supporting companies that have taken a stand against sex tourism and child exploitation.

To date, more than 1,000 travel and hospitality companies in 42 countries have signed The Code, a set of principles to combat child trafficking and abuse that was launched in 1998 by Ecpat (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) in Sweden. Travellers can find a list of companies that have signed on the website and they can use Ecpat letters and postcards to encourage other businesses to join too.

Patchareeboon Sakulpitakphon, a Bangkok-based project manager of The Code, said it is “a big step” for companies to sign on, as it requires them to establish an ethical policy on child trafficking and exploitation, train staff on the topic and put a clause in their contracts with suppliers.

“Travellers should understand that this sensitive crime is often ignored by tourism companies because they are simply ignorant or unaware, or because it conflicts with the ideal image of a dream vacation,” she said.

“Others are afraid to take action because they feel it's not their responsibility, or they are afraid of legal ramifications or retaliation from organised crime.”

In fact, Carol Smolenski, executive director of Ecpat USA, said it was slow-going when the organisation first tried to entice US companies to sign The Code in 2004. Just one company – Carlson, which owns the Radisson and Country Inns and Suites hotels – signed, and then there was a six-year stretch before any other US company joined them.

But since 2011, the initiative has gained momentum, with Delta Airlines, Wyndham Worldwide (which includes Wyndham hotels, Ramada, Days Inn and Howard Johnson), Hilton Worldwide and Sabre (owner of Travelocity) all signing on in the US.

“People who work at [hotels or airlines] see funky stuff all the time,” Smolenski said. “But unless they’re trained on what to do, they may not do anything.” Under The Code, front-desk personnel are trained to recognise signs of possible trafficking – such as a girl checking in with no baggage, paying in cash and quickly followed to her room by a man. The company should then have protocols in place to take the next steps.

Many businesses also help spread the word to travellers. For instance, Accor, the worldwide hotel group that includes the Novotel and Sofitel brands, puts up posters on child sex tourism in its hotels and hosts events to raise awareness in Thailand.

Beyond patronising businesses that support The Code, travellers should report suspicious activity. “Instinct kicks in,” Smolenski said, adding that people don’t need much training to know when something isn’t right. If a young girl is dressed up well beyond her years and appears to be in an odd situation, for instance, say something to your tour guide, hotel or travel company, or call the appropriate authorities. Emergency situations warrant a call to local law enforcement. Tips can also be passed onto police or other groups, such as local Ecpat offices or the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline in the US.

“It no longer accurate to say that trafficking is more likely to happen in one particular country because in reality, human trafficking occurs in every country,” said Sakulpitakphon, who conceded that there are certain hubs, such as Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. However Thailand is also one of the countries in which the travel industry has responded well to The Code. Others are Colombia, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and South Africa.

 “It is everyone's responsibility to prevent child sexual exploitation,” Sakulpitakphon said.

Lori Robertson writes the Ethical Traveller column for BBC Travel. You can send ethical dilemmas to bbcethicaltravel@gmail.com.

Sabre Joins Fight Against Human Trafficking - MarketWatch

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sabre-joins-fight-against-human-trafficking-2012-05-30 

Source: MarketWatch

PRESS RELEASE
May 30, 2012, 8:58 a.m. EDT

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, May 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Global travel technology company, Sabre Holdings, has joined members of the travel and tourism industry to fight sexual exploitation of children by signing the tourism Code of Conduct (The Code). A tourism-driven initiative to prevent child exploitation, The Code is co-funded by the Swiss Government (SECO) and private sector, and supported by Ending Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) International network, with UNICEF and the World Tourism Organization acting as advisory partners.

Sabre is the first travel technology company and the eighth U.S.-based company to sign the Code, which has more than 1000 members worldwide. It joins many of its customers in fighting the sexual exploitation of children including Accor Group, Carlson Group, Delta Air Lines, Hilton Worldwide and Wyndham Worldwide.

"Human trafficking is one of the most lucrative, widespread and fastest growing crimes, and often the travel and tourism industry is an unwilling and unknowing participant used by traffickers. Consequently, we are uniquely positioned to be a driving force in putting an end to these horrific crimes," said Sam Gilliland, CEO and Chairman of Sabre Holdings.

As a member, Sabre will look at ways to condemn child trafficking and exploitation, including providing training to its 10,000 global employees so they are more informed about the issue. It will also explore ways to raise awareness about human trafficking with its airline, hotel, travel agency and corporate customers, as well as directly to travelers who use its online booking tools, Travelocity.com, lastminute.com and Zuji.com.

"We will look at adding useful information about human trafficking to a traveler's e-ticket receipt for example, so they can be better prepared to identify and report potential trafficking incidents. We'll also work with the travel industry and government organizations around the world to shine more light on this issue and encourage them to be part of the solution," said Gilliland.

Human trafficking is estimated to be a US$32 billion trade affecting 161 countries worldwide. Today over 12 million men, women and children are trafficked within and across international borders for commercial sex or forced labor, including in the U.S. where an estimated 100,000 children are forced into the sex trade each year.

"Having a global technology company like Sabre join The Code is an important step forward in child protection. There is great potential to leverage their technology to address exploitation," said Carol Smolenski, Executive Director at ECPAT-USA. "It is also encouraging that they are willing to associate their brand with an organization that works on a difficult issue. Corporations that are willing to take this step have a genuine passion for the industry and the welfare of children, and I hope we continue to find support from more of these altruistic companies."

Demonstrating its immediate commitment to The Code, Sabre has invited the Polaris Project, an organization focused on combating all forms of human trafficking, to educate more than 350 travel agents and technology professionals expected to attend the company's annual Technology and Marketing University event next week in Las Vegas.

Bradley Myles, Executive Director and CEO of Polaris Project, said: "Sabre's passion, expertise and resources add a new dimension to this cause, and it's great to see them already proving a commitment to leverage their resources by having us educate attendees at their Technology and Marketing University event."

The signing of The Code is part of Sabre's broader commitment to global corporate responsibility in areas of travel, tourism and the communities it lives and works in.

About Sabre Holdings: a global travel technology company, serving the world's largest industry -- travel and tourism. We provide software to travel agencies, corporations, travelers, airlines, hotels, car, rail, cruise and tour operator companies through our four businesses: Sabre Airline Solutions, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity (including lastminute.com and Zuji). Sabre has approximately 10,000 employees in 60 countries around the world. It has large development and customer care centers in the United States, Argentina, India, Philippines, Poland and Uruguay. Sabre has won numerous awards for being a top employer and corporate citizen in Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, Peru, Poland, and the United States. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, Sabre is privately owned by Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Silver Lake Partners. For more information please visit: www.sabre.com

About ECPAT: the U.S. arm of ECPAT International, is focused on protecting children trafficked into the U.S., American children trafficked for sexual exploitation, and foreign children exploited by American tourists traveling abroad. ECPAT International is a global network of organizations working together for the elimination of child trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography. The network is comprised of 81 groups in 74 countries around the world. All ECPAT groups are independent grassroots organizations, working to combat child exploitation at the local level. For more information, visit www.ecpatusa.org .

About Polaris Project: is a leading organization in the United States combating all forms of human trafficking and serving both U.S. citizens and foreign national victims, including men, women, and children, and they operate the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline. For more information, please visit: www.polarisproject.org

Note to Editors

About child sex tourism: Child sex tourism is the commercial sexual exploitation of children by people who travel from one place to another to engage in sexual acts with minors. Often, child sex tourists travel from a richer country to one that is less developed, or they may be travellers within their own countries or region. Some child sex tourists (preferential abusers and paedophiles) target children specifically, but most do not usually have a sexual preference for children; they are situational abusers who unscrupulously take advantage of a situation in which children are made available to them. Child sex tourists take advantage of their anonymity as well as the socio-economic disparities in the locations they visit. They may try to rationalise their actions by claiming sex with a child is culturally acceptable or that money or goods exchanged benefit the child and community, or by setting their own thresholds for defining who is a child (under the CRC, a child is anyone under the age of 18).

SOURCE: Sabre Holdings

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