In a first for the Alabaman travel hub, Huntsville International Airport officials stopped an attempted human trafficking abduction on March 5. The targeted trafficking victim reportedly believed she would be flying to a modeling job, but the supposed modeling agency canceled the trip soon after they discovered that airport officials were escorting the young woman.

“People who don’t have anything to hide or have no reason to be fearful of the police don’t cancel,” Huntsville International Airport public relations and customer service manager Jana Kuner told WAFF 48 News.

The situation began when officials came across the victim’s mother in the airport’s parking garage. The mother was emotional after dropping off her daughter and was struggling to find her vehicle. Upon further questioning, airport officials began to suspect that mother and daughter didn’t have a full picture of what she would be getting into.

“Young girls, big dreams. They want to get out of a small town, she had bought in,” said Kuner.

The Global Epidemic of Human Trafficking Abduction

Exact statistics on human trafficking abduction can be hard to find because of the nature of the crime: many human traffickers are not caught and the methods used to gather data can be very different. This lack of information has lead to a wide range of suspected cases.

The International Labour Organization estimated that 20.9 million people were engaged in forced labor at any one time between 1995, but the Walk Free Foundation more than doubled that number in 2016 when they reported an estimate of 45.8 million people. At that same time, governments of the world were only able to identify 66,520 victims of human trafficking.

In 2018, the U.S. State Department reported that the United States is a top country of origin for human trafficking abduction victims. The 2019 human trafficking report released by the Department did not include a count of victims but stated that the U.S. government “fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”

Based on the lack of data, resources, and organization as well as the ever-rising numbers, it is clear that enough is not being done to solve this problem.

The Effort to Combat Human Trafficking Abduction

While the proactive officials of the Huntsville International Airport did their part to prevent human trafficking abduction, employees in human trafficking hot-spots don’t always know what to look for and often don’t report suspicious activity they see. According to the Department of Homeland Security, hospitality and tourism facilities — think hotels, airports, and bus stations, as well as casinos, sports events, etc. — see an especially high level of human trafficking abduction cases.

Despite the fact that many companies in both of these industries have introduced policies meant to combat human trafficking, many hotels and resorts have been sued in recent years for not alerting law enforcement of “the open and obvious presence of sex trafficking on their properties,” as stated in a suit filed by a human trafficking abduction victim against a hotel chain in New York in 2019, according to the New York Post.

The plaintiff of the case claims she was sold for sex as many as 15 to 20 times a day for three years between the age of 10 and 13. She alleges that she was brought into the hotel with a “paper bag” over her head and that if her trafficker didn’t have enough money to pay for the room, hotel employees were allowed to rape the victim as payment. And yet, with all of these signs, the staff never alerted the authorities.

The suit reads, “every day thousands of… employees witness manifestations of sex trafficking and commercial exploitation. Thus, the hospitality industry has the greatest reach to prevent, identify and thwart sexual exploitation where it is most likely to occur.”

If you were a victim of sex trafficking and forced to work at a truck stop, hotel or motel, night club or other hotel venue, you may be eligible to move forward with a civil investigation against these businesses. This investigation involves a civil case, and is not a criminal case against you or your loved ones.

Top Class Actions is working with experienced human trafficking attorneys who will be informed and sensitive to your situation. Join the fight by filling out the short form on this page. 

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