Events professionals can help prevent human trafficking by keeping vigilant and training staff to recognise when the crime is taking place. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/vadimalekcandr
As part of an undercover human-trafficking sting, 14 people were
arrested and 10 victims were recovered at San Diego Comic Con
International, according to published reports. The annual event, held
July 25-28 at the San Diego Convention Center, typically attracts more
than 100,000 people.
"Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalise on large-scale events —
such as Comic-Con — to exploit their victims for profit," said
California attorney general Rob Bonta in a statement. "These arrests
send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal
behaviour will not be tolerated. We are grateful to all our dedicated
partners involved in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, whose
collaboration has been invaluable."
David Peckinpaugh, president and CEO of third-party event powerhouse
Maritz, which has been actively fighting human trafficking since 2011,
was impressed by the work of law enforcement at the event. "What I
appreciated was the fact that it's gotten that kind of visibility and
that kind of focus," he told Northstar.
"To have something like this be that public with such a big event,
with that kind of focus from law enforcement, I found very encouraging.
Big sporting events, big concert events, Republican and Democratic
national conventions — the list goes on and on and on where these things
happen. It's disheartening, but on the other hand, I'm glad that they
caught these criminals."
Inside the sting
During the three-day operation, law enforcement personnel acted as
sex buyers to identify victims and arrest traffickers. They also posted
undercover advertisements soliciting sex to find buyers. Out of the 10
victims recovered, nine were adults and one was 16 years old.
"San Diego proudly hosts special events like Comic-Con; highly
attended events like these allow us to showcase our growing and
beautiful city," said Christopher Davis, acting special agent in charge
for Homeland Security Investigations San Diego. "However, when people
use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, HSI and our law
enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law
to face criminal charges. There is no place for alleged predators to
operate in our city, and HSI is committed to helping the victims of
these crimes."
The investigation was a joint effort through the SDHTTF, the San
Diego Police Department, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and Homeland Security, among other local and federal
offices.
"There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking," said San
Diego sheriff Kelly Martinez. "The coercion and violence that enslaves
people for profit and places them into forced labour or sex is criminal.
As the sheriff, I support the efforts of all our justice partners in
holding perpetrators accountable. I appreciate the focus that was placed
on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human
trafficking."
How the events industry can help
Event professionals can join the fight to stop human trafficking.
Maritz puts anti-trafficking wording in its contracts, RFPs and supplier
partner agreements, for instance, and recommends that event organisers
ask venues whether their staff has been trained to recognise when human
trafficking is happening. Awareness can be raised among attendees by
simply putting a link on event registrations to anti-trafficking
training.
ECPAT International
is a network of organisations in more than 100 countries working
together toward the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children.
Many hospitality organisations — alongside Maritz — have signed The Code,
also known as the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from
Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, an initiative to provide
awareness, tools and support to the tourism industry to prevent the
sexual exploitation of children.
Source: Northstar Meetings Group