The Dressember Network: Training Frontline Workers
A critical way to prevent human trafficking and intervene in trafficking situations is to equip those who may encounter potential victims in their everyday jobs to spot the signs of trafficking. Those in the hospitality, transit, and travel industries have an immense opportunity to help saves lives on a regular basis. Over the last year, the Dressember Network has provided crucial training to empower these frontline workers to recognize and report potential instances of human trafficking.
Employees in these sectors have a unique ability to prevent and intervene in trafficking situations if properly trained, because lodging establishments, seaports, and airports are known to be among the most common places in which trafficking occurs. In fact, 80% of trafficking cases involved hotels or motels in 2018.
Over the last year, you resourced Inhospitable to Human Trafficking (ITT) training to hotel employees across the United States so that they can recognize and report human trafficking in the hotel industry. Through this program, 240 hospitality professionals were trained across 13 nationwide ITT live training events, hospitality employees were trained at over 3,850 hotel properties, and over 19,000 hospitality employees were trained online or in person. This training makes an incredible impact on preventing human trafficking and providing exit pathways for victims in trafficking situations.
One instance of this impact can be seen at a hotel in the greater Seattle area that trained its staff (including managers, front desk staff, housekeepers, security, and guest services) annually.
When a guest checked into the hotel with two young women and asked for two rooms across the hall from each other, the front desk staff knew that it was a red flag. After a short time, a few men began to linger in the hotel lobby. The front desk staff, following their instincts and knowledge from the training program, called the police.
It turned out that the guest was using the rooms to film pornography and one of the two women was a minor. Thanks to the training and watchful eye of the front desk staff, the young women were able to exit a traumatic and horrible situation while gaining access to the resources that they needed, and the police ultimately arrested the guest.
Thanks to this training, hospitality workers all over the country are able to keep an eye out for trafficking situations and ensure that when something is suspicious, vulnerable people can access the tools, resources, and help that they need.
Another way that you have helped resource training for frontline workers to prevent and intervene in trafficking situations is through the Busing on the Lookout (BOTL) program. BOTL has helped the gaming industry improve identification opportunities for victims of trafficking at the intersection between casinos and bus/transit and trucking industries in the United States.
This year, the training focus was on three target locations: Shreveport, LA; Atlantic City, NJ; and Las Vegas, NV. Each of the three coalition-building events hosted this year was in conjunction with local industry and law enforcement leaders. In total, 305 leaders participated, and 96% said that they were better equipped to recognize and report human trafficking after attending the event. These attendees represented 42 different resort/casino properties, 7 truck stop/casino properties, 6 bus companies or transit agencies, and 37 law enforcement departments.
You also helped resource awareness campaigns in 12 cities nationwide, almost all of which are in casino gambling hubs. The BOTL program secured ad space on buses, in transit centers, and on bus/transit shelters for victim-centered posters that helped to explain what human trafficking experiences and situations might look like.
By engaging frontline workers and leaders in the field, the Dressember Network was able to ensure that more trafficking situations can be identified by those most likely to interact with those being trafficked. With better-informed identification, it is more likely that those in trafficking situations will be able to access the resources that they need in order to exit those situations safely. It is through the actions of quick-thinking frontline workers, like those in that Seattle hotel, that we can truly end trafficking once and for all. These trainings are an absolutely critical starting point and one which the Dressember community has supported to remarkable results this year.
The Dressember Network is made up of 20 organizations that support programs in the following impact areas: advocacy, prevention, intervention, and survivor empowerment. The Dressember Network partners with BEST to train frontline workers in the hospitality, maritime, and aviation industries on the signs of and appropriate responses to human trafficking. The Dressember Network partners with TAT to train frontline workers in the casino and trucking industries (as well as related industries, such as transit occurring in gaming towns) on the signs of and appropriate responses to human trafficking. When you support Dressember, you help dismantle trafficking holistically and in a way that prioritizes survivor needs and voices. Ready to join us? Register to become an advocate (and access accurate statistics that you can share to raise awareness) or make a donation today.
About the Author
Miranda Cecil is a second-year at Northeastern University School of Law. She graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2020 (go heels!) and shipped up to Boston. As a North Carolina transplant in New England, she loves exploring her new area on the weekends. In her free time, she enjoys cross-stitching, cycling, and reading. She hopes to use her legal degree and a passion for urban development to continue advocating for human trafficking survivors (and, despite the Boston winter, looks forward to the style challenge this December).