7a Human Trafficking Strategy Implementation Memo
COMMISSION AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 7a BRIEFING ITEM Date of Meeting January 28, 2020 DATE: January 17, 2020 TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director FROM: Eric Schinfeld, Sr. Manager, Federal & International Government Relations Chad Aldridge, Manager, Operational Readiness & Airport Transition (ORAT) Tracy Patterson, Manager, Talent Development and Diversity SUBJECT: Annual progress report on port-wide Human Trafficking Strategy implementation EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On January 9, 2018, the Port of Seattle Commission passed a motion directing staff to finalize and implement a Port-wide strategy to combat human trafficking. By taking that step, the Commission increased our organization's leadership role on this important topic, for which we not only have a moral obligation to protect residents and visitors but also a tangible role because of our status as both a large employer and as the manager of significant trade and travel facilities. January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and so it is appropriate to use the January 28, 2020 Commission meeting to both update Commissioners on our progress and successes, as well as use the public meeting as another platform to raise public awareness. We have implemented or are implementing almost all aspects of the Port's anti-human trafficking strategy from the successful creation of an internal policy to ensure all Port employees understand our commitment to this vital equity and social justice issue to the successful rollout of a regional human trafficking awareness campaign. In 2020, staff is pleased to implement a new employee training on this topic, developed in partnership with Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking. This is an important opportunity to ensure that our own staff and potentially others who work at Port facilities have the knowledge and resources to respond to instances of human trafficking. DETAILS The Port's human trafficking strategy has four main focus areas: 1) Training Ensuring that all employees have access to the proper training and education to understand both what human trafficking is and its impacts on our communities. 2) Communications Using port facilities and communications channels to raise public awareness of human trafficking and provide information to stop trafficking at our facilities. Template revised April 12, 2018. COMMISSION AGENDA Briefing Item No. 7a Page 2 of 2 Meeting Date: January 28, 2020 3) Policies and Protocols Ensuring that Port policies prohibit engagement in human trafficking, and provide clear procedures for employees to follow to report suspicion of human trafficking and violations of these policies. 4) Partnerships Leveraging relationships to reduce duplication and to maximize the impact of our efforts, including collaborating with nonprofits; local, state and federal agencies; and key customers and vendors. ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND Although slavery is commonly thought to be a thing of the past, each year millions of men, women, and children are trafficked in countries around the world, including the United States. Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other manipulative tactics to force people to engage in commercial sex or to provide labor or services against their will. It is estimated that human trafficking generates billions of dollars of profit per year second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime. Here in Washington state, we are not immune from the problem. Washington had the 12th highest call volume to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2017. In King County, an estimated 300-500 children are prostituted annually, some are as young as 11 years old; there are over 100 websites for soliciting sex in the Seattle area, many of which are used for human trafficking purposes. As both the operator of an airport and an owner of a wide array of maritime facilities, we can help reduce the probability that our properties will be used as a transit point for traffickers and their victims. As a major employer, we can save lives by educating our staff on the damaging effect that exploitation and trafficking have on individual lives and families, and how it undermines our commitment to equity and social justice. As a public sector leader, we can collaborate with other jurisdictions, customers, vendors and partners to raise awareness of this important issue. ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING (1) Presentation slides (2) Human Trafficking Motion 2018-01 (3) Port Human Trafficking Strategy executive summary PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS January 22, 2019 The Commission heard a one-year update on strategy implementation. July 24, 2018 The Commission heard a six-month update on strategy implementation, and extended key motion deadlines to December 31, 2019. January 9, 2018 The Commission passed a motion directing staff to finalize and implement the Port's human trafficking strategy. Template revised September 22, 2016. Template revised September 22, 2016.
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