While the United Nation’s 10^th World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30 has come and gone, the need for meeting and event planners to help stop human trafficking is, sadly, still as strong as ever.

ConferenceDirect has many Key Pillars of CD Caring and Connecting, from supporting programs and organizations that encourage diversity and inclusion to healthy eating and menu planning. One of those pillars is elevating the awareness of human trafficking — the recruitment, transfer, harboring or receipt of people by force, fraud or deception to exploit them for profit.

As part of its commitment to combatting commercial sexual exploitation of children, a particularly heinous form of human trafficking, ConferenceDirect has partnered with PACT, the U.S. member of the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT), a global network of civil society organizations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. CD also has signed the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct. The company’s Human Trafficking Committee also meets regularly to discuss ways to continue to inform and engage associates, partners and clients on this important topic.

There are several simple ways meeting and event professionals can help fight the prevalence of sex trafficking at their events:

Learn the signs. While those who exhibit any one or two of these signs aren’t necessarily victims, they could be. It is a red flag that could indicate human sex trafficking is taking place if you see someone who:

• Is being controlled by others, driven to and from locations, and escorted at all times

• Is being controlled and watched by others, having someone speak for them in public

• Does not have a passport or other forms of ID in their possession

• Does not have control of their own money or cellphone, may have more than one cellphone in their possession

• Has had passport and ID documents confiscated by others

• Is not being familiar with the neighborhood they live or work in

• Is being moved frequently; claim to be “new” or “just visiting”

• Is not being allowed to contact family or friends

• Is lying about age/false ID

• Is providing scripted or rehearsed answers to casual questions

• May be in possession of excess cash outside their financial means and have hotel keys

More physical and behavioral signs are available here.

Contact the authorities. If you see something suspicious, authorities recommend that you not approach the victim or perpetrator yourself but instead contact the appropriate authority. If the situation is an emergency, call 911. Otherwise, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888, text the hotline at 233733, or report online to org/chat.

Train yourself, your team and your vendors on how to spot human trafficking. There are numerous resources available, including from ECPAT, that can help. Also consider educating your audience on the issue via a session on the agenda or including a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity that supports victims of human sex trafficking.

Include your zero-tolerance policy in your contracts — and also in your RFPs.

Please join ConferenceDirect in the effort to stop the human sex trafficking of children. You can make a difference.