For the past three years, BEST has been a grateful recipient of funds raised by generous advocates during the month of December. Each year, the Dressember Foundation hosts a unique 31-day style challenge where advocates join in and raise funds to fight human trafficking by wearing a dress (or tie!) every day of December.
 
The idea is that wearing a dress or tie each day of one of the coldest months of the year will create a conversation starter with friends, family, and co-workers that leads to raising awareness about the harms of human trafficking while fundraising. This helps more people learn about trafficking and shows that anyone can pitch in to help stop it.
 
At Dressember, these caring people are not just fundraisers--they’re called advocates.
 
This year, Dressember advocates have had to get creative to help people engage. They are living out their advocacy, even while social distancing, to help create a better world. Advocates are using technology to share information and have conversations with friends, family, and colleagues by educating people about the harms of human trafficking, and fiercely defending the marginalized who are at even greater risk of harm and exploitation during the pandemic.
 
This year’s Dressember challenge may look a bit different, but it’s not stopping advocates! They are sharing daily vlogs, posting photos to social media, hosting zoom dinners, and continuing to keep the spirit of Dressember 2020 alive even in the middle of a global health crisis.
 
Advocacy requires dedication, thoughtfulness, good intentions, and consistency.  So when Dressember advocates choose to intentionally use a dress or tie for advocacy, it helps them reflect each day on how simple freedoms have been taken away from others, and that we can all do small things to make an impact. Although a dress or tie is a simple tool for advocacy, it symbolizes something that is so much bigger.
 
Collectively, Dressember advocates have raised over $11MM to help fund the work of anti-trafficking organizations, including ours. It’s not too late to join the campaign for Dressember 2020.  Head to dressember.org to learn more.

Within the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been another crisis brewing. While hotels have been grappling with budget shortfalls, staff furloughs, and social distancing guidelines—human traffickers have not taken a break. Human trafficking is a crime that thrives on chaos and vulnerability, and the current pandemic, as well as its resulting economic effect, is making more people vulnerable.

According to the anti-trafficking group Polaris, the number of human trafficking cases handled by their hotline in the month of April 2020 compared to the time leading up to the pandemic and the same month in 2019, showed a 40 percent increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. This shows that traffickers are not slowing down or stopping. They are busy recruiting and grooming victims while so many people are vulnerable.  

Often, trafficking victims are first exploited as minors. The average age that youth enter into commercial sexual exploitation is between 13-15 years old. The current crisis is causing children to be more isolated at home and spending more time online. At the same time, more Americans are experiencing financial vulnerability. These two realities are making it easier for traffickers to find and groom new victims. So as more guests return to hotels, it is essential that hotel employees know how to spot the warning signs of human trafficking. Here are some reminders for hotel staff to remember as they welcome back guests.

What is Human Trafficking?

Sex trafficking is the prostituting of a minor or the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel an adult into commercial sex work. In 2015, the federal definition of sex trafficking expanded to include sex buyers—to include those who contribute to the exploitation of vulnerable people by purchasing sex.

Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjecting a person to involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or slavery.

Who are the Victims?

Victims can be anyone—male, female, transgender; of any ethnic group; foreign immigrant or US citizen; and victims can be any age, income, or education level. The common thread for human trafficking victims is their vulnerability. This can be a result of homelessness, unemployment, an unstable home environment, a past history of abuse, a disability, having run away from home, or people who have been tricked into believing they are going to gain an opportunity for a better life.

Who are the Traffickers?

As with human trafficking victims, there is no one way to describe human traffickers. They can be young or old, male or female, and of any nationality or ethnic background. The key is traffickers are intent on exploiting the vulnerabilities of others for the purpose of commercial gain. Traffickers are not necessarily strangers or casual acquaintances of the victims. Some traffickers can be family members, intimate partners, or long-time friends of victims.

Tips for Hotel Personnel

It is important for hotel employees to understand some of the tactics used by traffickers. These include threats or use of violence towards the victim or the victim’s family, threatening deportation, restriction of contact with others, making false promises, or depriving the victim of basic needs. These tactics can result in victims being reluctant or unwilling to talk with hotel personnel, and victims may not ask for help. 

It’s also important to keep in mind that adults who are coerced or forced into commercial sexual activities are not criminals, and they should be treated as victims and put in touch with social service agencies who can get them connected to help. Anytime a child is involved in a commercial sex act, it is considered sex trafficking, and law enforcement should be contacted immediately if a child is in danger.

All hotel employees should be trained in human trafficking prevention so they have the knowledge, skills, and ability to recognize a human trafficking situation and take appropriate action to intervene.
 

The story of a human trafficking victim is not about how he or she is rescued. It’s not even about the first time a human trafficking victim is exploited. In almost every case of trafficking, there is a far deeper story than what first meets the eye. People who are susceptible to human trafficking have vulnerabilities, including neglect, poverty, homelessness, family breakdown, disability, addiction, or a history of physical or sexual abuse that have long gone unaddressed. Traffickers look for these vulnerabilities in the people they exploit so they can convince, coerce, or force them into situations that victims do not want and can quickly become trapped in.

In this modern-day version of forced slavery, human trafficking has become one of the most tragic crimes against humanity. That’s why the United Nations designated July 30 as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons—to help raise awareness and educate more people about human trafficking and how to help those who are living in slavery.


What is Human Trafficking? 

Sex trafficking is the prostituting of a minor or the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel an adult into commercial sex work. In the US, the federal definition of sex trafficking has been expanded to include sex buyers—to include those who contribute to the exploitation of vulnerable people by purchasing sex. 
 
Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjecting a person to involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or slavery.  


Who are the Victims? 

Victims can be anyone—the common thread for human trafficking victims is their vulnerability. Because vulnerability plays such a key role, people of color, foreign nationals, and people with diverse sexual identities are disproportionately victimized.


Who are the Traffickers? 

As with human trafficking victims, there is no one way to describe human traffickers. They can be young or old, male or female, and of any nationality or ethnic background. The key is traffickers are intent on exploiting the vulnerabilities of others for the purpose of commercial gain. Traffickers are not necessarily strangers or casual acquaintances of the victims. Some traffickers can be family members, intimate partners, or long-time friends of victims.  

 
Tips for Recognizing Human Trafficking
 
It’s important to understand some of the tactics traffickers use in order to understand why victims may not ask for help. Traffickers will often threaten or use violence towards the victim or the victim’s family, threaten deportation, restrict contact with others, make false promises, or deprive the victim of basic needs if they do not do as instructed.

Some indicators that a person may be a victim of human trafficking:

• Evidence of violence, abuse, or coercion
• Evidence of unusual control, such as a person speaking for another person or controlling money and documents
• Signs of unusual fear, anxiety, or submission
• A person avoids eye contact and social interaction
• Signs that a person is unaware of what city they are in, or where their final destination is when traveling
• A person is unusually submissive to the person they are with
• Controller is reluctant to separate themself from the person

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How You Can Help

If you witness a human trafficking situation, you can report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, and they can direct the situation to local law enforcement or social service agencies.

Call 1-888-373-7888
Text BeFree (233733)
Email help@humantraffickinghotline.org

Anytime a child is involved in a commercial sex act or if a child is in danger, call 911 immediately.

To join the movement and support the work to help prevent human trafficking, you can donate to BEST.