WEBVTT

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A few years ago,

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I got a call from the highest ranking
legal official in the state of Georgia:

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the attorney general.

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That moment was a wake-up call.

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It was 2013, and the city of Atlanta

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was hosting the Final Four
basketball tournament.

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The AG called to ask

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if the company that I worked for
could help sponsor billboards

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that would be put up around the city

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as part of an anti-human
trafficking campaign.

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He said this was important
because sex trafficking spikes

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with big sporting events
and with conventions.

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And the billboards
would help to raise awareness.

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Now, if I'm being honest with you,

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my first inclination
was to politely decline.

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(Laughter)

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Let's face it --

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there are thousands of things that
corporate America could get involved in.

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Sex trafficking seemed a little messy.

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Little bit too difficult,

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something that is better
left for someone else.

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But then I started to understand and learn
how big the problem really is.

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And that it's rampant
in my company's home town.

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I lived and worked in Atlanta for years.

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I practice law here.

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And yet, I had no idea
that the birthplace of my children

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is among the most prevalent cities
for sex trafficking in the US.

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At last report,
Atlanta's illegal sex trade

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has generated up to
290 million dollars a year.

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That's more money that the city's
illegal gun and drug trade combined.

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So we stepped up
and we helped with the billboards.

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But I couldn't help feeling
like it wasn't enough.

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The parent in me, the mother in me
needed to do more.

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I started talking to people about this

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and inevitably, I was surprised,

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because the conversation
would turn from curiosity:

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"Really? This happens here?"

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to empathy: "Wow, we've got
to do something about that."

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To blame: "You're not telling me that
every prostitute is a victim, are you?

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I mean, don't they know
what they're getting into?"

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I get it, I understand
why people are confused.

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So, to be clear,
the people that I'm talking about

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do not choose this life.

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They're forced, defrauded or coerced.

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That's actually the legal definition

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for human trafficking
under federal law, for adults.

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Now, when it comes to kids,

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any minor under 18 that's transported,

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facilitated or used for commercial sex,

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is automatically a victim.

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Regardless of whether
force, fraud or coercion is used.

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This crime knows no age,
gender or socioeconomic barrier.

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I'm talking about the 16-year-old girl
that I met in Washington, DC.

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She had been trafficked
from the time she was 14 until she was 16.

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She was a victim
of the foster care system.

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And she told me she'd been sold
up to five times a day.

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She didn't even know
the term "human trafficking;"

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she thought that it was just
a part of her life as a foster care kid.

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Sex trafficking also shows up
in affluent areas and gated communities.

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And men lure young girls
into sex trafficking situations

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with promises of modeling
contracts, cell phones.

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Sometimes they're just kidnapped
right off the street.

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In the US, an estimated
200,000 to 300,000 girls and boys

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are anticipated to be used
for commercial sex trafficking every year.

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You heard that right -- girls and boys.

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Worldwide, the International
Labor Organization

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estimates that up to
one million children a year

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are vulnerable for sex trafficking.

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Those numbers are huge.

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And so while the billboards are great
for raising awareness generally,

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they're just not enough
to put an end to this problem.

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I believe that if we're going to be
serious about sex trafficking,

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we can't legislate or arrest our way
out of modern-day slavery.

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If we really want to end
sex trafficking in the US,

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we have to systematically educate
and target demand.

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And I think the business community
is in the perfect position

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to do just that.

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So, sex trafficking is big business.

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And I'm proposing a business plan
that starts with the customer.

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And in the sex trade,
the customer is referred to as a John.

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He is the man that fuels the demand
for sex trafficking.

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Johns do not fit into neat stereotypes.

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But there is one universal truth:

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no John, no buyer, no victim.

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So if we want to start
to put a dent in sex trafficking,

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we have to get to John.

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And businesses can do that
while he's at work.

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There's an organization called
Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking,

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or BEST for short.

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And when they launched in 2012,

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they did a study of Seattle-based Johns.

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And you know what they found out?

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Johns are everyday guys,
employed at local businesses.

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They range in age from 18 to 84.

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Johns are dads.

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Johns have admitted that they buy sex
when they are traveling for business,

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when they're going to sporting events

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or when they're in the military.

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But here's the kicker.

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BEST study determined
that web-based sex buying

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spikes at 2pm in the afternoon.

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Which means that these Johns are likely
buying sex in the middle of the workday.

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I believe that there is a way to stop
Johns in the middle of the workday

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from buying sex.

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And businesses can do it
in three simple ways.

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The first is with a policy.

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A policy that clearly says,

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the company prohibits
sex-buying during work,

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with company resources or on company time.

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That's right.

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I'm saying that your handbook
has to specifically give an example

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that says no sex-buying
while you're traveling,

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at the international trade show,
because that's where it's happening.

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Now, a policy is only as good
as its enforcement and its communication.

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Several studies have indicated from Johns

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that the best way to deter them
is public humiliation and embarrassment.

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So, businesses who catch Johns buying sex,

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using company-based equipment
or company resources,

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but cut them a break
or sweep it under the rug

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and don't fire them,

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are complicit in fueling demand.

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Now, a policy is one
of the best ways to start.

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The second way is educating the workforce.

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Businesses can go a long way
in simply training their workforce

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about the signs and the red flags
of human trafficking.

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This was my "aha!" moment for how
our company could make a big difference.

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Our nation's highways,
airports and truck stops

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are literally used
as modern-day slave routes.

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Our company has more than 100,000 drivers

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all over the country, all over the world.

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And so it made perfect sense
to train them to see the red flags.

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We don't want them jumping out there
and doing things on their own,

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so we want them to call
a phone number, the hotline,

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and let law enforcement intervene.

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So to do this, we teamed up

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with an organization
called Truckers Against Trafficking.

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This Colorado-based organization
had web-based support and materials

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that we gave to our truck drivers

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that gave them exactly what they needed
to spot the red flags.

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Like, hearing CB chatter on their radios
about girls at nearby exits.

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Or, seeing underaged women
emerging from vehicles

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in the truck stop parking lots.

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When we rolled out this training,

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a few brave drivers admitted
they had seen these women,

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knocking on the cabs in the truck stops,
looking for customers.

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Now, they said that they weren't buying.

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But they also didn't know
enough to make a call.

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And that's what we want them to do.

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TAT's organization --
Truckers Against Trafficking --

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also emphasizes the need
for men to talk to other men

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about web-based sex buying
and not buying commercial sex.

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They feature men in uniform,
proudly proclaiming why they don't buy.

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If we're going to see
a cultural shift in this atrocity,

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we need men talking to other men

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about the underlying issues
fueling demand.

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Because sometimes, Johns don't even know

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that they're purchasing girls
who are enslaved.

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Which brings me to my final way
that businesses can help.

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Every business has a special resource

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or a secret sauce or resource
that they can bring

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to fight human trafficking.

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For example, Visa, Master Card
and American Express

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refuse to process transactions
from backpage.com,

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an online sex site
that sold commercial sex

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to the tune of nine
million dollars a month.

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In April of 2018, backpage.com
and affiliated websites were shut down,

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and the FBI seized all their assets.

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Hiring survivors is another way
that any company can help.

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Randstad, an organization
that works with companies

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to find survivors who need good jobs,

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has an excellent program,
called Hire Hope.

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We've used this program;
we know that it works.

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In addition to training
their flight attendants

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and their airline crew,

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Delta Air Lines also offers SkyMiles,
through a program called SkyWish,

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to survivors to help them
escape their traffickers

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and reunite with their families.

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There are thousands of things
that businesses can do.

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They just have to decide
what to do to join the fight.

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No one can justify slavery today.

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But I believe it remains one
of the greatest civil rights atrocities

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of our time.

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Fortunately, the business community
is uniquely positioned

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to help train their employees,

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to enforce policies

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and to help use their special resources

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to fight human trafficking.

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And what about you?

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What if you decided
to learn the red flags?

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What if you decided to look
at the signs that are all around you

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and make a call?

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There is no penalty
for calling law enforcement

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when you see something
that doesn't sit right.

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Together, we can all protect our children,

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we can educate the workforces around us

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and improve society,

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where we all live and work with John.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)