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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26911.
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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26911.
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Page 2
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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26911.
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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26911.
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1   Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide Background Over the last several decades, human trafficking has emerged as a critical public concern, with tens of millions of global victims. Labor and sex trafficking are the broadest categories that fall under the term human trafficking, but there are more specific types of exploitation that may occur, including forced marriage, early marriage, sex tourism, bonded labor, domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced criminality. Victims of human trafficking (and their traffickers) can be of any age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, socio economic back- ground, or citizenship (including United States), and can have any immigration status. Victims and traffickers move through international borders and between states using various forms of transportation, includ- ing buses, trains, airplanes, and others. Victims of human traf- ficking at airports may be being transported from one location to the other by their traffickers, while others may be traveling of their own accord, unaware that the job opportunity at the end of their journey is not legitimate. Some may even be employed by one of the many entities that conduct business at an airport. Because airports are one of the many avenues within the transportation sector that traffickers use to conduct their illicit activities, they have a key role to play in efforts to end human trafficking within their organizations and in their communities. Purpose The purpose of this guide is to provide detailed information for airports on combating human trafficking, including specific guidelines for airports to develop their own tailored, scalable programs. The information presented assumes that such programs will be devel- oped in keeping with the following principles: • Take a victim-centered, survivor-informed approach • Start small and build momentum • Leverage partners • Be aware of data limitations S U M M A R Y “I often wonder how that day might have been different if someone at the airport or on board the aircraft knew how to relate to that young woman . . . When airport employees know the warning signs to watch for, the questions to ask, and the simple steps they can take to make people feel safe, they can make a big difference in the lives of people who are trafficked.” —Rebekah Covington, survivor of human trafficking

2 Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide Audience The primary audience for the guide is staff at U.S. airports who are responsible for imple- menting practices to address human trafficking. Secondary audiences include airport exec- utives, department leads, law enforcement personnel, security and operations staff, and public-facing workers, all of whom play key roles in implementing an airport’s program to address human trafficking. Other potential audiences include all other stakeholders who work at or with airports, including airline staff, tenant and concessionaire staff, corporate and general aviation tenants, contracted security staff, aviation industry organizations, and federal agencies. Contents This guide comprises two main parts: a Primer and a How-to Guide. Appendices and an associated Toolkit can be found on the National Academies Press website at nap. nationalacademies.org by searching for ACRP Research Report 249: Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide. Figure 1 summarizes the contents of each component. The main body of this report is the How-to Guide, which contains 20 action steps, orga- nized into three phases, that airports can take to initiate or enhance a program to address human trafficking. Each action step is structured the same way and contains the following sections: • Background and Need • Actions to Consider • Airport Stakeholders Involved • How to Leverage External Partners • Budget and Resource Implications • Small Airport Considerations • Toolkit Resources Airports can undertake some or all of the action steps depending on the scope of their existing or proposed programs as well as their unique needs, access to resources and fund- ing, aircraft operations and service, governance structures, availability of potential partners, political environments, and other contextual factors. The action steps within each phase are not intended to be sequential; airports can pick and choose which to pursue. Figure 1. Guide for developing an airport program to address human trafficking.

Summary 3   Methodology All materials were developed as part of ACRP Project 04-24, “Guidelines to Develop an Anti-Human Trafficking Action Plan for Airports.” The structure, organization, content, and terminology in each part of the guide are informed by research primarily conducted between July 2020 and July 2021. This research included a comprehensive resource review and extensive stakeholder engagement, including: (1) 13 one-on-one interviews, which were conducted with nonprofit and advocacy groups, individuals with lived experience, and staff at federal agencies and industry organizations; (2) five virtual focus groups, which were conducted with airport and airport tenant staff; and (3) email and telephone engagement with five aviation industry organizations. Additionally, the research team participated in various other events and conversations during the course of the research, including train- ings and webinars. They also participated in additional email exchanges and telephone calls with relevant organizations and individuals. Finally, the research team conducted a pilot effort in early 2022 to road test the guide with target users and receive their feedback on how to refine it. The research team worked with two airports—Paine Field/Snohomish County Airport (PAE) and San Antonio International Airport (SAT)—and also sought review and input from two victim and survivor support organizations to “ground truth” the materials and identify gaps that could be missed by those without lived experience.

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Human trafficking has emerged as a critical public concern, with tens of millions of global victims who are moved across international borders and between states using various forms of transportation, including buses, trains, and airplanes, among others. Traffickers may be transporting victims through airports, or victims may be traveling of their own accord, unaware that the job opportunity at the end of their journey is not legitimate.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 249: Developing an Airport Program to Address Human Trafficking: A Guide provides a comprehensive, yet scalable, process to help airports identify and respond to possible human trafficking activity at their facilities.

Supplemental to the report are Appendices and a Toolkit that offer a series of resources and references that airports can use to develop a tailored program.

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