The New York Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday an initiative that involves hotels and tourism agencies to help prevent human trafficking, especially given the increase in travel across the border in the summer season.
Under the state initiative, hotel and tourism associations will receive cards containing information on human trafficking and service telephone numbers.
In addition, lodging establishments are reminded of their obligation to place the cards in visible places to help victims. Traffickers often use the hotel industry to transport, control, and deliver victims of sex trafficking or forced labor.
“Human trafficking is unconscionable and harms communities in New York and across the country,” prosecutor Letitia James said in a statement.
“Today my office reminds hotels, motels and lodging facilities across the state of their obligation to prevent and report human trafficking. As summer travel increases and more people move through the state, it is critical that hotels do their part to stop human trafficking and support victims.”
Posting the National Human Trafficking Hotline number and other critical information in visible places, the official reminded, can help save lives.
Shandra Woworuntu, founder of Mentar and a survivor of trafficking, said: “When I was trafficked and taken to a hotel, there was no information that could help me and how I wish I had it.”
For this reason, Woworuntu added, it is very important that hotels and businesses take a step forward and avoid the traffic of people in their spaces. “The human trafficking identification information and hotline number will give hope to victims who read it.”
From her perspective, Judy Harris Kluger, executive director of Sanctuary for Families, said having this information in plain sight is critical because victims experience extreme isolation. “Too often, traffickers are the only source of information and connection to the outside world, a deliberate effort that increases their power and control over those they exploit. By reminding accommodation establishments of their obligation to display safety information signs and helpline numbers, Attorney General James is helping break down an invisible barrier that keeps trafficked victims tied to their exploiters.”
Regarding this announcement, Senator Kirsten Gillibran highlighted that partnerships at the federal and state levels, as well as with the private sector, are essential to help identify potential victims and hold traffickers accountable for their crimes.
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Some victims of exploitation may be unusually anxious, fearful, submissive, work unusually long hours, be indebted to an employer, receive less than minimum wage or no pay, live and work in the same place, or engage in commercial sex for profit. of another person.
According to the most recent federal report on human trafficking, 57 percent of all victims in 2021 were minors, and 92 percent were sex trafficking cases. In addition, the number of cases of forced labor increased by 22 percent.
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New York State remains in the top five states with the highest number of new sex trafficking cases, active sex trafficking cases, and cases involving minors.
The study shows that the victims were recruited primarily through fraudulent job offers and promises of visas and asylum. Most of the tactics mentioned in the report require the victim to stay in private establishments.
The national hotline for reporting human trafficking is 1-888-373-7888. But reports can also be texted HELP or INFO to 23373.
For more information on human trafficking in New York visit: New York’s Interagency Taskforce Against Human Trafficking.
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