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MOTION
OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION
TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PORT OF SEATTLE HUMAN
TRAFFICKING STRATEGY
PROPOSED
JANUARY 9, 2018
TEXT OF THE MOTION
The Port of Seattle is committed to its unique role in stopping human trafficking here in King
County, where hundreds of victims are identified each year. We not only have a moral
obligation to protect residents and visitors in King County, but also a tangible role in stopping
trafficking because of our status as both a large employer and as the manager of significant
trade and travel facilities. Over the years, our organization has been a leader in directly
addressing trafficking activities, raising awareness of the issue to local residents and
collaborating with key partners to increase our reach and impact.
Given the Port’s commitment to ensuring that we use our resources to ensure the safety and
prosperity of all King County residents and everyone who uses our facilities, we have the
opportunity increase our regional and statewide leadership on this important topic by
developing a comprehensive strategy that ties together training, resources, policies and
procedures. To advance the Port’s efforts, the Port of Seattle shall adopt the following goals:
• By March 31, 2018, staff shall finalize a comprehensive strategy and implement an initial
set of actions, including but not limited to:
o instituting trainings for the most relevant Port employees;
o joining key alliances and committees to ensure the Port’s engagement on this
topic regionally;
o conducting initial awareness raising efforts to the Port’s employees and to users of
the Port’s facilities; and
o planning for the implementation of a broader set of tactics.
• By June 30, 2018, staff shall implement substantial aspects of the Port’s comprehensive
trafficking strategy, including but not limited to:
o making training broadly available to all Port employees;
o ensuring that Port policies and our Code of Conduct fully restricts employee
engagement in any aspect of trafficking;
o installing signage in Port facilities that helps increase awareness of this issue and
reduces trafficking in our region; and
Item Number: 8a _____
Meeting Date: January 9, 2018
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o exploring implementation of a final tier of tactics.
• By September 1, 2018, staff shall have begun implementation of those final tier tactics
that not only are most achievable but also have the broadest return on investment in
terms of multiplying the Port's impact on reducing human trafficking. In particular, staff
should focus on collaborations with tenants, vendors, concessionaires, contractors and
partners such as the Northwest Seaport Alliance.
Finally, Port staff shall develop metrics to ensure that the Port’s efforts are having an impact both
internally and externally, and work with peers locally,nationally and internationally to codify best
practices and lessons learned from our efforts.
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION
Although slavery is commonly thought to be a thing of the past, each year millions of men,
women, and children are trafficked in countries around the world, including the United States.
Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other manipulative tactics to
force people to engage in commercial sex or to provide labor or services against their will. It is
estimated that human trafficking generates billions of dollars of profit per year – second only to
drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime.
There is no official estimate of the number of human trafficking victims in the U.S., but the
nonprofit Polaris estimates that the total number of victims nationally reaches into the
hundreds of thousands. For example, in 2016, an estimated 1 out of 6 endangered runaways
reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex
trafficking victims.
Here in Washington state, we are not immune from the problem. Washington had the 14th
highest call volume to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2015. In King County, an
estimated 300-500 children are prostituted annually, some are as young as 11 years old; there
are over 100 websites for soliciting sex in the Seattle area, many of which are used for human
trafficking purposes.
The Port of Seattle has a unique role to play in stopping human trafficking here in King County,
not only because of our moral obligation to protect residents and visitors in King County, but
also because of our role as both a large employer and as the manager of significant trade and
travel facilities. Headlines from the last year substantiate this truth, from the story of the Alaska
Airlines flight attendant who rescued a young girl being trafficked on a flight from Seattle to San
Francisco to the recently revealed Bellevue prostitution ring in which South Korean women
were flown in and out of Sea-Tac.
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As both the operator of an airport and an owner of a wide array of maritime facilities, we can
help reduce the probability that our properties will be used as a transit point for traffickers and
their victims. As a major employer, we can train our employees to not contribute in any way to
the demand side of the equation. As a public sector leader, we can collaborate with other
jurisdictions, customers, vendors and partners to raise awareness of this important issue.
In particular, there are four key areas of focus in which the Port should take a leadership role in
addressing human trafficking issues:
1) Training – Ensure that all employees have access to the proper training and education to
understand both what human trafficking is as well as the Port’s prohibitions against
engaging in the demand side of trafficking. As appropriate, provide additional training to
customer-facing employees and public safety personnel to identify and stop human
trafficking taking place through our facilities.
2) Communications and Infrastructure – Utilize port facilities and communications
channels to raise public awareness of human trafficking, and provide information to
stop trafficking taking place at our facilities. In particular, focus on airport passengers
through signage and by providing clear, accessible reporting infrastructure and
procedures.
3) Partnerships – Leverage existing resources and relationships both to reduce duplication
and to maximize the impact of our efforts, including collaborating with nonprofits; local,
state and federal agencies; and key customers and vendors. Work with the Northwest
Seaport Alliance to ensure cohesion in policy, procedures and efforts at their facilities
and through their customer and vendor networks.
4) Policies & Protocols – Ensure that Port policies (such as travel and expenses, as well as
use of Port resources and electronic devices) prohibit engagement in human trafficking,
and provide clear procedures for employees to follow to report suspicion of human
trafficking and violations of these policies.
STATEMENT OF POLICY DIRECTION
The Commission hereby directs Port staff to finalize and implement a Port of Seattle
Comprehensive Human Trafficking Strategy. This will be referred to a Commission Committee
as per Commission bylaws, as appropriate. It must include ways to achieve the short, medium,
and long-term goals, key milestones, and timelines outlined in this motion.
