Seminar takes aim at human trafficking

“Three hundred thousand U.S. children are being trafficked for sex and/or labor every year,” said Sheryl Kline, Ph.D, deputy dean and professor at the University of Delaware.

Kline, along with William Sullivan, managing director of the Courtyard by Marriott in Newark and professor at the University of Delaware, gave a human trafficking awareness presentation May 7, to 25 individuals who work at local hotels, at the Bellmoor Inn and Spa in Rehoboth Beach.

“We chose to give the presentation at the Bellmoor because sex trafficking tends to take place at hotels,” Sullivan said. “It’s a transient world. You can rent a room, get on social media and anonymously advertise.”

Kline and Sullivan listed several signs of sex traffickers, including people who tend to pay for their rooms in cash; attempt to hide their faces; are seen with many young people; request an isolated room; and have various men enter the room. They subsequently listed signs of the victims, including those who wear revealing clothing, wear too much makeup, have little to no luggage, and appear drugged or scared.

“If you see what you think to be a sex trafficker,” Kline suggested, “Don’t rush to an assumption, but make sure everything adds up.”

“It’s a sad situation,” Sullivan said. “People get into situations that aren’t their fault.” Kline followed up on this by adding, “It’s a common misconception that people are brought in internationally. It’s mostly domestic in the U.S. Too often, families traffic their own children,” she said.

Kline and Sullivan discussed with those in attendance some disturbing facts provided by the Polaris Project. “In 2018, 14,117 human trafficking calls were made and 5,147 human trafficking cases were reported,” Kline said. “However, a call means one phone call, not one person. Typically, one call involves several people.” 

“In 2017 in Delaware,” Sullivan said, “23 victims were identified and 20 traffickers were identified, as well as six businesses. However, these numbers are often lower than what is the reality. You should multiply the number by four; that’s more realistic.”

Sullivan advised those in attendance to not put this issue off as something that doesn’t take place. “We like to pretend that it doesn’t happen here, but it does,” he said. He went on to add that trafficking is often connected to other criminal activities such as drugs and violent assault.

“Issues have happened in several hotels miles from here, including my hotel. There probably isn’t a hotel in Delaware that hasn’t been involved in the sex trade. Don’t be naive to think that any hotel is above this.”

Patricia Dailey Lewis, executive director of the Beau Biden Foundation, was in attendance and gave the others attending added information. “One out of 10 children will be molested by the time they are 18,” she said. “Furthermore, 99 percent of children victims of human trafficking are victims of child abuse.” 

She went on to add that the average age of a sex trafficked child is 14. 

“Our goal is to get the word out and reduce human trafficking near our homes,” Kline said. “We want to build awareness to bring these numbers down.”

“This is terrorism,” Sullivan said. “Very personal terrorism. If you see something, say something.”

To contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline, call 888-373-7888 or go to www.humantraffickinghotline.org.