ABOUT THIS GUIDE
As a hospitality industry professional, you are in a unique position to recognize and report potential human trafficking violations. You play an important role because you regularly interact with guests and the greater public in general. You may have employees, coworkers, or subcontractors who are victims of forced labor. Hotels and motels are also major locations where traffickers force sex trafficking victims to provide commercial sex to paying customers. Victims may be forced to stay at a hotel or motel where customers come to them, or they are required to go to rooms rented out by the customers. Traffickers may also use hotels when transporting victims to new locations.
You may be able to recognize signs that a guest is in danger. This guide seeks to inform hospitality industry professionals about human trafficking and its indicators so you can be better prepared to recognize a potential victim at your place of business and know how to report a potential case.
This guide includes information about: » What human trafficking is.
- How to recognize it among guests.
- Key indicators for four groups of employees.
- Examples of human trafficking in the hospitality industry.
- Reporting options if you suspect a guest is affected by human trafficking or is being exploited.
While hotels and motels can be especially attractive locations for all forms of human trafficking, it is also important to note that human trafficking occurs at sporting events, theme parks, on cruise ships, and in many other areas of the tourism industry. For the purposes of this guide, the term “victim” will be used to describe an individual experiencing human trafficking. The term “survivor” will be used to describe a former victim who is in the process of recovery.
WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Human traffickers use various forms of force, fraud, and coercion to control and exploit victims. These forms may include, but are not limited to, fraudulent employment opportunities, false promises of love or a better life, psychological coercion (i.e., threats of blackmail), and violence or threats of violence. However, under U.S. law, causing someone under the age of 18 to engage in a commercial sex act, regardless of using force, fraud, or coercion is human trafficking.
The crime of human trafficking hinges on the exploitation of another person. People often falsely believe “human trafficking” implies that victims must be moved from one place to another to qualify as a victim. Human trafficking does not require a border crossing or transportation to be considered a crime. It is a crime that can be committed against an individual who has never left their hometown.
Who It May Affect
Human trafficking victims can be any age, race, gender identity, sex, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, or socioeconomic class. In many cases, victims do not come forward to seek help because of varying vulnerability factors that may include potential language barriers, a fear and distrust of authority, or they do not self-identify as a victim. Traffickers target vulnerabilities and will look to satisfy whatever need an individual has, whether it’s providing basic needs like food or shelter or emotional support.
HOW TRAFFICKERS OPERATE
Traffickers often take advantage of the privacy and anonymity offered by the hospitality industry. They can operate discreetly because staff and guests may not know the signs of human trafficking. Traffickers often prey on victims with little or no social safety net, including a lack of social or family support systems, unstable housing, previous traumatic experiences or abuse, questionable immigration status, limited English proficiency, or an inability to decipher exploitative situations. There is no single face of traffickers. They can be any gender or from any background.
INDICATORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR GENERAL HOTEL AND MOTEL STAFF
Hotel and motel employees are often in the best position to see potential signs of human trafficking, especially when your duties give you access to different areas of the properties. You may also have direct or indirect contact with both traffickers and victims. While no single indicator is necessarily proof of human trafficking, recognizing the signs is the first step in identifying possible victims.
Does the guest…
- Appear to be deprived of food, water, sleep, basic hygiene, medical care, or other necessities?
- Act fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, nervous/paranoid, or disassociated/ “checked out”?
- Have bruises or other signs of physical trauma?
- Have tattoos or scars that would indicate branding by a trafficker? » Have scars, cut marks, burns, or other signs of self-harm/suicidal tendencies?
- Defer to another person to speak for them?
- Appear to be coached on what to say, or their responses seem rehearsed?
- Have a difficult time providing logical answers to basic questions?
- Appear to be traveling with few or no personal items, such as luggage or other bags?
- Exhibit evidence of verbal threats, emotional abuse, or being treated in a demeaning way?
- Seem to be with a “boyfriend,” “girlfriend,” or romantic partner who is noticeably older?
- Appear to be with a group of girls traveling with an older male or female?
- Dress inappropriately for their age, or in out-of-season clothing?
- Appear to have no control over their money and/or ID?
- Reference someone in their group being their “sugar daddy/sugar momma,” or refer to themselves as a “sugar baby”?
- Reference traveling to other cities or towns frequently?
- Talk about getting paid very little or not at all for the work they do?
- Appear to not have freedom of movement?
To test your knowledge of these signs, take Blue Campaign’s General Public Indicators Challenge, which includes an example of human trafficking in a hotel setting.