At Caesars, we strongly support eliminating human trafficking, which involves commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor and debt bondage. We have made a commitment to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.
International Tourism Partnership (ITP) is a nonprofit convening hospitality companies to provide a forum for action on environmental and social issues. In 2018, Caesars joined ITP and thus shared our support for the organization’s Principles on Forced Labor, which addresses human rights in supply chains through principles related to worker rights.
ECPAT-USA is the leading policy organization in the U.S. seeking to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children. A joint venture of the tourism/hospitality sectors and ECPAT, the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (“The Code”) is a voluntary set of business principles that travel-related companies implement to prevent child sex tourism and trafficking of children. Caesars is the first global gaming-entertainment company to sign on to The Code.
In 2015, we were the founding partners of the Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) Employers Alliance. BEST is the first public-private partnership in the nation to work across industries to prevent sex trafficking and sex buying. We also participate in the American Gaming Association (AGA) CSR Committee, which includes a focus on addressing human trafficking in the gaming industry.
Caesars conducts training for executives, managers and team members who have the ability to disrupt potential instances of trafficking in their areas of responsibility, to identify and report known or suspected human trafficking violations.
Read on to learn about our Community Engagement Ambassador program in the words of Cynthia,* a security shift supervisor and trained Community Engagement Ambassador at one of our affiliated North American properties:
Respectful actions and safe procedures are the foundation of every security officer’s human trafficking training. If the victim is not willing or able to ask for help yet, it is up to the officer to plant the seed, so if they ever wish to seek help from us, our door is open. If they do come in and ask for help, officers are trained on who to contact and what procedures to follow in order to make certain the safest and least intrusive route is taken to assist the victim. All of these scenarios are being adjusted to fit the person and situation while maintaining a high level of respect. The officers have also been trained to look for signs of a possible lurking trafficker around the victim and to be aware of the surrounding environment.
Community Engagement Ambassadors are the highest trained personnel in the security department and their training is continually improving. The floor officers have basic knowledge as necessary to maintain respect and kindness.
The victims are taught by the traffickers that security officers and local law enforcement are the bad guys. If we can take the first steps to get the victims to know that we are on their side and want to help them, we can begin to help.
Next week, we’ll share how Caesars Entertainment’s training is industry leading – and how team members are empowered to make a difference.
*Cynthia is a pseudonym for a real Caesars Entertainment Community Engagement Ambassador
