Combat Human Trafficking in the Hotel Industry
Date / Time: Wednesday 25th October (15.00 - 16.00)
Venue: Radisson Blu, Nairobi
Facilitator: Professor Maureen Brookes
- Did you know that human trafficking, a form of modern slavery, is one of the most profitable global crimes today?
- Did you know that hotels are commonly used as vehicles for human trafficking?
- Would you know if someone was being trafficked in a hotel?
- Would you know what to do if you suspected a human trafficking crime in a hotel?
Current estimates by the Walk Free Foundation (2017) suggest that there are over 45 million global victims of human trafficking. These victims are recruited and transported by traffickers, within or across country borders, for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation. No country is immune to human trafficking, despite it being a criminal offence in over 146 countries.
Experts recognise the role that legitimate businesses play in facilitating trafficking crimes and the role they can potentially play in helping to combat them. The hotel industry is increasingly recognised as a legitimate industry sector that is vulnerable to trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation. There is clearly a need for industry action to combat this heinous crime.
This workshop is designed to help industry professionals, educators and/or students to understand human trafficking within the hotel industry and to identify:
- why hotels are vulnerable to human trafficking;
- the critical intervention points within hotels where signs of human trafficking can be spotted and barriers erected to minimise the threat;
- how to adopt a risk management approach to combatting human trafficking
- how to use the COMBAT Toolkit to aid in the prevention of THB within the hotel industry.
Participants will use ‘real’ case studies of trafficking victims to develop their understanding. They will also be provided with details of how to access the COMBAT Training Toolkit free of charge. All materials in the workshop have been developed through a 2-year study, funded by the European Commission and undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers in Europe.