Reference no: EM132734314

Article: HR Has an Emerging Role in Battling Sex Trafficking

HR professionals and other business leaders are discovering that they may be able to help minimize the scourge of sex trafficking. In addition to providing jobs for former victims, they can:

1. Adopt and clarify company policies that prohibit employees from buying sexual services using company time and resources and from spending company funds on entertainment at strip clubs, which have been linked to sex trafficking.
2. Update the company's disciplinary processes to cover violations of these policies.
3. Train employees about ways that they can help thwart sex trafficking, such as by reporting suspicious activity to authorities.
4. Work with nonprofit organizations advocating for changes that help to curb sex trafficking.

Buying Sex at Work

Sex trafficking is a huge, largely hidden and significantly misunderstood problem in the U.S., as well as around the globe. Defined as prostituting a minor and/or using force, fraud or coercion to compel a person into sex work, it is a $150 billion industry worldwide. About 4,000 cases are reported annually in the U.S., according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, though it is likely that many more go unreported.

Sex trafficking can potentially be found in every employment sector. Recent research compiled by the Seattle-based Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST) Employers Alliance indicates that:

1. About 1 in 6 men in the U.S. report having solicited sex.
2. More than half of prostituted people in the U.S. say they have met clients on company properties.
3. The peak time for securing sex online is 2 p.m., suggesting significant use of company time and computers.
4. "Sex-buying takes place in the heart of the workplace," said Stephanie Mar Brettmann, Ph.D., executive director of BEST. "Traffickers and buyers are using business properties" such as offices and vehicles in company parking lots.

• "It happens everywhere," said Michele Sarkisian, president and CEO of Atlanta-area consulting firm P3 Advisors and a volunteer advocate for victims of trafficking. She noted that many sex workers have been coerced into their role.
• Unfortunately, "Business has been slow to catch on to the problem," said Jack Bruce, SHRM-SCP, president of the Atlanta chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. "There are certain people-like me-who did not believe it was taking place" to the extent that it has been reported, he added.
• Bruce said he wants to see HR play a bigger role in fighting sex trafficking and pointed out that not addressing exploitation in the workplace leaves employers vulnerable to a significant loss of reputation. He and other advocates for victims of sex trafficking say that any time employees buy sex using company resources, this can raise an organization's legal and financial risks, jeopardize federal contracts, and lead to a loss of employee productivity.
• "Much like sexual harassment 30 or 40 years ago, this is becoming an issue that companies cannot ignore," said Brettmann. The alliance's website provides an informational video about the issue and details on training opportunities for employers.

Discussion 1: Summarize the article on how HR Has an emerging role in battling sex trafficking