Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
7 Keynote Address Airportsâ Role in Mitigating Human Trafficking Davina Durgana, Walk Free Foundation Davina Durgana Slavery Index, presented a keynote address that focused on human trafficking and modern slavery7. Durgana noted that the Freedom Fund looks at hot spots for these issues. She presented results of surveys concerning modern slavery and noted that modern slavery includes forced marriage. She noted that child marriage is not necessarily the same as forced marriage. Modern slavery has a commercial connection. Durgana noted that there are language barriers to understanding laws and individual rights that often prevent individuals from seeking help. She noted that modern slavery is a concern of the Sustainable Development Goals 8.7, 16.2, and 17 of the United Nations. The statistics around modern slavery indicate that 40.3 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2016, 24.9 million people were in forced labor, and 15.4 million in forced marriage. More than 71% of these individuals are female. Durgana noted that forced labor occurred at both the state and private levels; various states have prison labor that fits this description. She indicated that the biggest reason enslaved people remain in servitude is withheld wages. Durgana noted that forced marriage starts with isolation. A person is pulled from school and isolated from friends and authority figures, with the goal of being returned to the country of origin for marriage. She noted that the UK organization Karma Nirvana supports victims. She encouraged airports and airlines to examine their supply chain, as many companies do not pay a living wage, so that contractors sleep at the airport. Durgana introduced Nancy Rivard, who formed Airline Ambassadors International. Airline Ambassadors has an internationally recognized program to educate people on human trafficking. Rivard noted that the organization has a tool kit for airports. Each airport has a different way of addressing this issue. If staff suspect a situation such as trafficking, they donât always know to whom or how to report it. Durgana and Rivard were asked what to look for in such situations. They suggested that fearful, submissive behavior is a good indicator, whereby the person does not make eye contact. Often, a person being trafficked will defer to someone else to answer questions. The individual may not know where he or she is traveling to, will have overt branding (clothes, tattoo), and have conspicuously little luggage. They may also be intimidated by authority figures, such as police and border protection agents.