A seminar taking place today in Columbia aims to train hotel and motel employees to identify and combat human trafficking.
The seminar at Hampton Inn and Suites on Stadium Boulevard educates hospitality industry employees on the signs of human trafficking, and what they can do to help stop it. Nanette Ward is a co-chair of the Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition and is scheduled to present at the seminar. She says human trafficking often occurs in hotels and motels, and educating hospitality industry employees is a key step in ending what her organization calls “modern-day slavery.”
“The hotel/motel industry are frontline folks to be able to be aware and to report suspicious activity, that would be, in particular, sex trafficking.” said Ward.
Ward says suspicious activity ranges from young girls traveling with older men to hotel guests refusing cleaning services for days. The seminar runs from 4-5 p.m. and is open to the public.
