SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Jan. 29, 2014 – Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. Approximately 800,000 victims are trafficked globally every year and they include children involved in the sex trade, adults who are coerced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone forced into different forms of labor or services against their will. Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing criminal industries in the world, and is estimated to be a $32 billion trade. In September 2012, global technology company Sabrelaunched Passport to Freedom, a comprehensive initiative to unite the travel and tourism industries to fight human trafficking. The primary objective for the initiative is to increase awareness and educate the travel industry on human trafficking issues, advocate for legislation change, and provide opportunities for leaders to collaborate. In July 2013 Sabre rolled out custom-designed online training for its global employees. Sabre partnered with the Polaris Project, a leading organization in the global fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery, to help develop the company’s employee training program. In the first six months, more than 30 percent of all Sabre employees voluntarily completed the training, with a 4.5 out of 5 positive rating. Now, in an effort to exponentially raise awareness, Sabre is releasing the training to the general public. Sabre made this move in part because numerous employees asked how their friends and family could take it. Sabre’s 30-minute interactive training provides insight into children’s rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation and how to report suspected cases, using technology to provide this valuable resource on-demand. Find out how the training was created here. “Sabre’s Passport to Freedom initiative communicates that we do not accept or tolerate human trafficking. The initiative allows us the opportunity to let criminals, and the traveling public, know that we’re not going to allow human traffickers to use our company as a stepping stone for their corrupt activities,” said Cristina Scott, chairperson of Sabre’s Passport to Freedom initiative. “By providing training to the public that Sabre employees used themselves to identify and rescue two individuals in Uruguay, we are really hopeful that awareness will increase and that soon citizens of the world will close in on the perpetrators.” Polaris Project Executive Director and CEO, Bradley Miles, said this training could be a valuable resource in the fight against human trafficking. “Launching this resource is an important tool in the fight against modern day slavery.  The more people who know what to look for and how to report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888, the more lives we can all save,” said Myles. Passport to Freedom Objectives:
  • Train 10,000 global employees so they are better informed on the issues
  • Raise awareness with airline, hotel, travel agency and corporate customers
  • Inform travelers so they are better prepared to identify and report potential trafficking activities
  • Partner with non-profit, travel and government organizations that support global advocacy toward ending human trafficking
  • Update company policies, including its “supplier code of conduct,” to reflect the company’s stand against human trafficking
In addition to launching Passport to Freedom, Sabre is proud to be the first global travel technology company to sign the tourism code of conduct (The Code). The Code is an international tourism-focused initiative against human trafficking that is co-funded by the Swiss government (SECO) and private sector investments, and supported by End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) International, with UNICEF and the World Tourism Organization acting as advisory partners.

archived Barbra Anderson ECPAT human trafficking Passport to Freedom Polaris Project