​If you spent time commuting or traveling last January, you may have seen a large ad on the side of a bus or a poster in the airport with a simple, yet powerful message: Help stop human trafficking. These eye-catching posters and ads were part of a large-scale, unified public awareness campaign led by the Port of Seattle in conjunction with many regional partners from the government, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, all in an effort to help increase awareness during January for human trafficking awareness month. Ads and posters were placed all around SeaTac airport and the Port’s maritime facilities, as well as in regional buses, trains, health clinics, libraries, law enforcement offices, public defender offices, community centers, and in many business facilities. These signs, along with a press conference that resulted in 14 regional news stories, and a tremendous amount of chatter on social media, have helped the Port of Seattle and their partners reach an ultimate goal—to raise awareness about what human trafficking can look like, and to teach the public how to help if they witness a trafficking situation.

The purpose of the campaign was to provide human trafficking reporting resources to as many Washingtonians and visitors to our state as possible, and to urge victims and survivors to reach out for assistance. The ads and posters were made in English and multiple other languages. Each included the number for the National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-373-7888, text number 233-733) and a local website that serves as a comprehensive resource for anyone in Washington who is being forced to perform work against their will (WATraffickingHelp.org).

The awareness campaign was launched at a press conference held at SeaTac airport on January 18, 2019 and included speakers from the Port of Seattle, King County Council, Seattle Police Department, King County Sheriff’s Office, Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, and the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Center (WARN).

“We believe this is the first time in the country that a major city, county, Port, transit and private sector agencies have come together on this very important topic,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner, Courtney Gregoire at the press conference.

In addition to the leaders who spoke at the press conference, many western Washington cities, local nonprofit agencies, and regional public and private enterprises came together to help support this campaign and make it a success.


Partnering Cities:
 
​City of Seattle
City of SeaTac
City of Kent
City of Federal Way
City of Tukwila
City of Des Moines
City of Duvall
City of Burien
City of Auburn
City of Renton
 

Partnering Nonprofits:

Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST)
Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST)
The Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS)
Seattle Against Slavery
Northwest Justice Project
 

Partnering Public and Private Enterprises:

Sound Transit Link Light Rail
King County Metro & Public Health Clinics
City of Seattle Parks & Libraries
Snohomish County Lodging Association
Expedia
Uber
Lyft
Clear

​BEST strives to create a world in which no one is trafficked. We recognize that the key to preventing human trafficking and increasing the reporting of trafficking incidents lies in educating employees. Front line staff who work directly with the general public can witness the warning signs of human trafficking and report it. That's why BEST recently joined forces with three more state hotel associations to provide human trafficking awareness training. The Washington Hospitality Association, the California Hotel and Lodging Association, and the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association have all recently partnered with BEST to offer Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training to their members.
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BEST's training explains the truth about human trafficking in hotels, and helps staff recognize potential human trafficking situations and report suspected trafficking activity to their managers. Hotel management can then contact law enforcement to safely intervene and recover victims. BEST’s training has been proven to increase hotel staff reporting, and survey results show that after receiving training, 96 percent of hotel employee participants believe that BEST’s training made their hotel safer.
By partnering with these large state hotel associations, BEST’s Inhospitable to Human Trafficking training will now be free to more than 7,800 lodging facilities throughout Washington, California and North Carolina.


Washington

The Washington Hospitality Association Education Foundation partnered with BEST in January 2019 to begin offering training to their Washington Hospitality Association members’ and their teams free of charge. This was not the first time BEST has joined forces with the association. The two have been partners in trafficking prevention work since 2012. Both organizations are active participants with the Washington State Task Force Against the Trafficking of Persons, and both have been instrumental in driving human trafficking prevention work in Washington state.

“We are woven into the fabric of the daily lives of our guests and team members,” said Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association. “As a result, hospitality industry leaders are recognizing the important role we play in preventing and ending this crime. Hotels take profound pride and responsibility in serving and protecting all guests.”
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California

The California Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA) was instrumental in pushing the California State Legislature to pass Senate Bill 970 (Atkins), which was signed into law in September 2018. This new law requires that California lodging establishments provide at least 20 minutes of training and education in human trafficking awareness to each employee who is likely to interact with victims of this crime. California now requires that hotels provide their staff with human trafficking awareness training by January 2020 and re-train every two years. CHLA partnered with BEST in January 2019 to begin providing training for their members to help California hotels meet this new requirement.
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“Our industry is a long-time advocate in the prevention, identification and notification of human trafficking. By working closely with Senator Atkins last year on SB 970, we ensured our shared goal of consistently and effectively training our employees to spot and report incidents of human trafficking was met,” said Lynn S. Mohrfeld, President and CEO of CHLA. “We are confident that the training provided by BEST will allow the California hotel industry to be a leader in the battle against human trafficking, while helping to protect employees and innocent victims.”


North Carolina
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Recognizing the hotel industry’s proximity to the activities of human trafficking, Lynn Minges, President & CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA), sought the expertise of BEST to help protect North Carolina’s hoteliers and to help ensure the safety of their guests. NCRLA partnered with BEST in February 2019 to provide free human trafficking training for NCRLA hotel members and their employees. By partnering with BEST to offer this free training, NCRLA is now offering their hotel and lodging members a way to educate hotel employees to help prevent human trafficking.
 
“We have a responsibility to our members and to the communities we serve to be educated about the serious issue of human trafficking,” said Minges. “We have a unique opportunity to have a significant impact tackling this humanitarian crisis if we equip our employees to recognize and report any suspected trafficking activity.”