by Berkley Bedell | Jun 8, 2020 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
Hotels are consistently reported in the top three locations that trafficking occurs but so often hotel employees are not equipped with the knowledge of what sex trafficking looks like. Without proper training they are not able to identify potential trafficking let...
by Guardian Group | Oct 3, 2019 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking, Sex Trafficking
Sitting through another mandatory training is rarely on anyone’s list of fun ideas… we totally understand. However, we also know that if a prevention training is done well with good research, some level of interaction and a clear and compelling call to the learner’s...
by Berkley Bedell | Aug 26, 2019 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
How Hospitality Workers Could Help Stop Modern Slavery: Every day, thousands of employees working in the hospitality industry witness manifestations of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and fail to report it—all too often because they do not...
by Berkley Bedell | Mar 6, 2019 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking, Sex Trafficking
The Patriots football team is known as arguably the most successful team in history. It is known for the unstoppable combo of Belichick and Brady. This is all this football dynasty should be known for, not the current life choices of owner Robert Kraft. Kraft has...
by Berkley Bedell | Oct 23, 2018 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
“You always have a Choice”- Choice Hotel Slogan “That’s supposed to be a safe place where you can have your family there, and in the next room there’s a young girl just being taken advantage of by 10,15, 20 men in one night.”...
by Berkley Bedell | Oct 1, 2018 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
Civil liability for human trafficking in the hospitality industry is slowly emerging to the forefront of state legislators’ line of sight. Historically, the human trafficking problem became so widespread in part because most Americans lacked awareness of the issue. In...
by Berkley Bedell | Aug 15, 2018 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
The restaurant and lodging industries provide lasting memories and valuable services for travelers away from home for business and pleasure. At times, it can be difficult balancing privacy with protection, autonomy with accountability, or convenience with comfort. ...
by Berkley Bedell | Apr 26, 2018 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
We all must choose our battles. Even when you know you’ve chosen the right battle, it’s sometimes a lot harder than you imagined it would be. Case in point, in January of this year, I took a new job where we battle sex trafficking daily and the cowards behind this...
by Berkley Bedell | Jan 15, 2018 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking, Sex Trafficking
Public’s Perception of Modern Slavery Vs. Reality: Sex Trafficking is usually thought of by society in a way that is both naive and harmful in that it allows real sex traffickers to fly under the radar, undetected, due to stereotypes and common portrayals of...
by Berkley Bedell | Nov 15, 2017 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
What Does The Law Say about Human Trafficking? In 2000, Congress passed The U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the most significant federal human trafficking statute ever passed to address the problem of sex trafficking. Since 2000, new studies and...
by Berkley Bedell | Oct 15, 2017 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
The Damage of Trafficking Leaves Lasting and Expensive Wounds: Given the tremendous physical, emotional, and economic damage incurred by victims of sex trafficking and their families, many federal and state legislators have recently amended laws to make it...
by Berkley Bedell | Sep 15, 2017 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
Similar to Federal Law, California’s human trafficking law, CA Penal Code § 236, directly addresses sex trafficking and does not require proof of the use of force, fraud, or coercion in the commission of the crime against minors. But unlike the Federal Law, the CA...
by Berkley Bedell | Aug 15, 2017 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
“Reckless Disregard” and Human Trafficking Under Washington Law: In Washington, a hotel that is found to be criminally liable for their direct/indirect participation in human trafficking or if their acts caused harm to the victim can be ordered to pay...
by Berkley Bedell | Jul 15, 2017 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
A Tough But Changing Landscape for modern slavery: One of the more perverse consequences of human trafficking is that, because of the tremendous fear and psychological abuse endured by victims, many survivors remain loyal to their traffickers even after they...
by Berkley Bedell | May 15, 2017 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
Sex trafficking, and particularly child sex trafficking, are very prevalent and serious issues within the U.S. today and are particularly prevalent within the hotel industry. Here are some red flags that hotel workers and management can look to make a difference and...
by Berkley Bedell | Mar 15, 2017 | Hospitality Industry & Human Trafficking
In Oregon, there are two ways hotels can face civil liability for not addressing sex trafficking in their establishment: First, a hotel potentially faces civil liability because Oregon law expressly allows victims to sue anyone who profited from their...
