In anticipation of the Super Bowl, Dressember partners with Lyft & BEST to educate drivers on human trafficking
Large sporting events like the Super Bowl bring in visitors from all over the country. With an influx of travelers, human trafficking has the opportunity to thrive. While there has been inconsistent data about links between the Super Bowl and human trafficking, the Super Bowl has become an opportunity to continue raising public awareness about this injustice that occurs on a daily basis in the United States. In anticipation of the Super Bowl, we have partnered with Lyft and Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) to provide human trafficking prevention education sessions for Lyft drivers in Miami.
Between January 9th - 14th, BEST led sessions in both English and Spanish at the Lyft Miami Driver Hub. The sessions helped Lyft drivers learn how to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and gave them tips on what to do if they suspect that one of their riders may be a victim of human trafficking.
Florida ranks third in the United States in human trafficking cases reported, behind California and Texas, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. With Miami hosting February’s big game, the city is anticipating that over a million people will attend events.
“According to survivors of labor and sex trafficking that BEST has interviewed, people who experience human trafficking are frequently in driving services for transportation. Their controllers may be transporting them to work in a forced labor situation or a victim may be traveling to meet a sex buyer. Lyft drivers have the opportunity to offer assistance to human trafficking victims who are traveling alone or to report suspicion of abuse to 911 or the human trafficking hotline.”
In February, BEST will also facilitate five driver education sessions in the Lyft Las Vegas Hub. Nevada is a key state in the fight to end human trafficking as highlighted In a 2017 annual report from The Nevada Coalition to Prevent the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children which found that an estimated 5,687 victims of child sex trafficking were living in Nevada.
“Human trafficking victims are one of the most vulnerable populations,” says Louisa Choi, general manager of Lyft Nevada. “This unique training opportunity will give our drivers the necessary tools to spot the threat of human trafficking and how to appropriately respond.”
The prevention education sessions that have taken place in January and that will take place in February are part of our ongoing mission to raise awareness and prevent human trafficking across the United States. Thank you for your continued commitment which makes this work possible.