Hotel workers and police are being trained to identify situations that are connected to human trafficking as preparations are made for Super Bowl 50 next February…
A resolution was passed by the Palo Alto City Council on Oct. 5 to begin the training. Other Bay Area communities are doing the same. Councilwoman Liz Kniss said, “What this proclamation does tonight is ask that we will essentially put some resources into it at this point. And in particular we’re calling out the Super Bowl.” The Bay Area is a hotspot for forced prostitution. Also forced labor occurring in hotels and restaurants is another problem. So many people at such a large event increases demand. The Polaris Project, an advocacy group explains that events like the Supper Bowl is a great challenge, but actually slavery is an everyday event in all our 50 states. They also estimate that 100,000 children are trafficked in the United States each year.
”City Council Member Marc Berman, wants everyone to be aware of red flags and things to look for. “Maybe somebody random is walking down the street and notices, ‘Oh wait, there are bars inside of a window instead of outside of a window, that’s weird,’ and starts to unravel that thread and maybe identify a terrible situation.”
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