Arizona AG Announces Sex Trafficking Training Program For Tourism Industry

In an effort to fight the war on sex trafficking, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has launched a free training program designed specifically to educate professionals in the tourism industry on how to identify, report and put a stop to sex trafficking.

The SAFE Action Project is expected to be geared towards employees of places where there are large groups of people, such as hotels, restaurants, ride-sharing, airports and stadiums, according to a press release.

The training program, is in conjunction with the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and is scheduled to have the first training session next week at Phoenix Sky Harbor. In addition, the program was developed with the help of Visit Phoenix, American Airlines, Lyft and other tourism industry professionals, all working together to train employees, who interact with customers on a daily basis, on the warning signs of human trafficking.

“We can’t fight human trafficking alone,” Brnovich said in the release. “It will take the entire community banding together to fight this horrific crime. I am grateful to all of our partners who are taking action to provide this free training. Together, we truly can make a difference.”

According the latest numbers from the FBI in 2017, Arizona was third in the nation for human trafficking offenses The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported that eighty percent of the individuals trafficked in Arizona were female, with the average age of entry into sexual exploitation being 19 years old.

Fighting human trafficking is a top priority for General Brnovich. Since 2015, the Arizona attorney general’s office has obtained 62 convictions that were connected to sex trafficking and child sex trafficking.