A few years ago, I got a call from the highest ranking legal official in the state of Georgia: the attorney general. That moment was a wake-up call. It was 2013, and the city of Atlanta was hosting the Final Four basketball tournament. The AG called to ask if the company that I worked for could help sponsor billboards that would be put up around the city as part of an anti-human trafficking campaign. He said this was important because sex trafficking spikes with big sporting events and with conventions. And the billboards would help to raise awareness.
几年前, 我接到一个电话, 是佐治亚州最高法律长官 总检察长打来的。 那个时刻,是唤醒我的时刻。 那是2013年,亚特兰大市 正在举办篮球4强赛。 总检察长打电话来 是想问我公司能否赞助一些公告牌 摆在城市各处 作为反对贩卖人口 宣传活动的一部分。 他说这件事很重要, 因为性交易会在 大型体育赛事 和大型会议期间尖锐上涨。 公告牌能很好地起到警醒的作用。
Now, if I'm being honest with you, my first inclination was to politely decline.
好吧,如果实话实说, 我的第一个反应是礼貌地拒绝他。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Let's face it -- there are thousands of things that corporate America could get involved in. Sex trafficking seemed a little messy. Little bit too difficult, something that is better left for someone else.
面对现实吧, 有那么多事情美国的公司可以参与。 性交易看起来有点乱。 有点困难, 最好交给别人来做。
But then I started to understand and learn how big the problem really is. And that it's rampant in my company's home town.
但是后来我开始意识到 这个问题有多严重。 而且在我公司所在地非常猖獗。
I lived and worked in Atlanta for years. I practice law here. And yet, I had no idea that the birthplace of my children is among the most prevalent cities for sex trafficking in the US. At last report, Atlanta's illegal sex trade has generated up to 290 million dollars a year. That's more money that the city's illegal gun and drug trade combined.
我在亚特兰大 工作和生活了很多年。 从事法律工作。 而我并没有意识到, 我孩子出生的地方 是全美性交易最普遍的城市之一。 根据最新的报道, 亚特兰大的非法性交易总额 每年达到2.9亿美元。 这比全市非法枪支和毒品交易额 加起来还要大。
So we stepped up and we helped with the billboards. But I couldn't help feeling like it wasn't enough. The parent in me, the mother in me needed to do more.
于是我们挺身而出了, 赞助了公告牌。 但我觉得这还不够。 作为家长,作为母亲, 我需要做得更多。
I started talking to people about this and inevitably, I was surprised, because the conversation would turn from curiosity: "Really? This happens here?" to empathy: "Wow, we've got to do something about that." To blame: "You're not telling me that every prostitute is a victim, are you? I mean, don't they know what they're getting into?"
我开始跟大家讨论这件事, 不出所料,我被震惊了, 因为这些对话从好奇: “真的吗?在我们这儿?” 到感同身受: “哇,我们需要做点什么。” 到谴责:“你不会想告诉我 每一个妓女都是受害者吧,是吗? 难道她们不知道自己在做什么?”
I get it, I understand why people are confused. So, to be clear, the people that I'm talking about do not choose this life. They're forced, defrauded or coerced. That's actually the legal definition for human trafficking under federal law, for adults. Now, when it comes to kids, any minor under 18 that's transported, facilitated or used for commercial sex, is automatically a victim. Regardless of whether force, fraud or coercion is used. This crime knows no age, gender or socioeconomic barrier.
我明白,我理解 为什么大家会觉得疑惑。 先澄清一点,我说的这些人 并没有如此选择自己的人生。 他们是被强迫, 被欺骗或者被威胁的。 实际上这是联邦法律中 对于成年人人口贩卖的法律定义。 而对于儿童, 任何18岁以下的未成年人被运送, 促使或被用于商业性行为, 就会自动成为受害者。 无论是否被强迫、 被欺骗或者被威胁。 这种犯罪没有年龄、 性别或社会经济的区别。
I'm talking about the 16-year-old girl that I met in Washington, DC. She had been trafficked from the time she was 14 until she was 16. She was a victim of the foster care system. And she told me she'd been sold up to five times a day. She didn't even know the term "human trafficking;" she thought that it was just a part of her life as a foster care kid.
我在华盛顿D.C. 遇到了一个16岁的姑娘。 她在14-16岁期间被贩卖。 她是寄养系统的受害者。 她告诉我,曾经在一天 内被卖了5次。 她甚至都不知道 “人口贩卖”这个词, 她觉得,作为寄养的孩子, 这些就是她生活的一部分。
Sex trafficking also shows up in affluent areas and gated communities. And men lure young girls into sex trafficking situations with promises of modeling contracts, cell phones. Sometimes they're just kidnapped right off the street. In the US, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 girls and boys are anticipated to be used for commercial sex trafficking every year. You heard that right -- girls and boys. Worldwide, the International Labor Organization estimates that up to one million children a year are vulnerable for sex trafficking. Those numbers are huge. And so while the billboards are great for raising awareness generally, they're just not enough to put an end to this problem. I believe that if we're going to be serious about sex trafficking, we can't legislate or arrest our way out of modern-day slavery. If we really want to end sex trafficking in the US, we have to systematically educate and target demand. And I think the business community is in the perfect position to do just that.
性交易在富人区也会出现。 男人引诱年轻女孩进行性交易, 以模特合约,手机作为条件。 有时候甚至在路边被直接绑走。 在美国,每年大约有 20-30万女孩和男孩 参与商业性交易。 你没听错,既有女孩也有男孩。 全世界范围内,据国际劳工组织估算 每年大约有100万儿童 极易受到性交易的侵害。 这是个巨大的数字。 因此尽管公告牌对于 引起大众的警觉有很大作用, 但对于解决问题却远远不够。 我相信,如果我们正视性交易, 我们就能立法或阻止 现代的奴隶制度。 如果我们真的想制止美国的性交易, 我们需要系统地教育,认准需求。 我觉得商界是最适合 来做这件事的。
So, sex trafficking is big business. And I'm proposing a business plan that starts with the customer. And in the sex trade, the customer is referred to as a John. He is the man that fuels the demand for sex trafficking. Johns do not fit into neat stereotypes. But there is one universal truth: no John, no buyer, no victim. So if we want to start to put a dent in sex trafficking, we have to get to John. And businesses can do that while he's at work.
性交易是一门大生意。 我会从顾客端开始提一个商业计划。 我们假设性交易中的顾客叫约翰。 他这样的人刺激了性交易的需求。 约翰当然不是谦谦君子。 但有一个普遍真理: 没有约翰,没有买家, 就没有受害者。 所以我们如果想减少性交易的话, 我们就要找到约翰。 只要他在工作, 就能通过公司找到他。
There's an organization called Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking, or BEST for short. And when they launched in 2012, they did a study of Seattle-based Johns. And you know what they found out? Johns are everyday guys, employed at local businesses. They range in age from 18 to 84. Johns are dads. Johns have admitted that they buy sex when they are traveling for business, when they're going to sporting events or when they're in the military. But here's the kicker. BEST study determined that web-based sex buying spikes at 2pm in the afternoon. Which means that these Johns are likely buying sex in the middle of the workday.
有一个组织叫 “公司终结奴隶制和人口贩卖”, 或者简称“BEST”。 他们在2012年成立的时候, 针对住在西雅图的 约翰们做了项调查。 知道他们发现了什么吗? 约翰们都是普通人, 在当地公司上班。 从18岁到84岁。 很多人都是父亲。 约翰们承认, 他们会在出差的时候, 会在看比赛的时候, 或者在军队服役期间购买性服务。 还有更惊人的。 BEST的研究表明, 在网站上的购买行为 在下午2点的时候达到峰值。 也就是说这些人 基本上会在上班的时候下单。
I believe that there is a way to stop Johns in the middle of the workday from buying sex. And businesses can do it in three simple ways.
我认为有办法阻止这些人 在工作日下单。 公司可以用3种简单的方法 做到这一点。
The first is with a policy. A policy that clearly says, the company prohibits sex-buying during work, with company resources or on company time. That's right. I'm saying that your handbook has to specifically give an example that says no sex-buying while you're traveling, at the international trade show, because that's where it's happening. Now, a policy is only as good as its enforcement and its communication. Several studies have indicated from Johns that the best way to deter them is public humiliation and embarrassment. So, businesses who catch Johns buying sex, using company-based equipment or company resources, but cut them a break or sweep it under the rug and don't fire them, are complicit in fueling demand.
第一种是制定政策。 明确规定, 公司禁止在工作期间购买性服务, 使用公司资源或者占用工作时间。 是的。 我的意思是,我们的工作手册上, 应该明确举例说明, 出差期间禁止购买性服务, 比如在某次国际贸易节上, 因为那就是经常发生性交易的地方。 一项政策的好坏跟执行和传播有关。 多项研究表明, 对付约翰们最好的方式 就是公开的羞辱和难堪。 因此,如果公司发现 约翰们购买性服务, 使用的是公司的设备或者资源, 却只是放他们几天假 或者睁只眼闭只眼 不解雇他们, 就是变相满足他们的需求。
Now, a policy is one of the best ways to start. The second way is educating the workforce. Businesses can go a long way in simply training their workforce about the signs and the red flags of human trafficking. This was my "aha!" moment for how our company could make a big difference. Our nation's highways, airports and truck stops are literally used as modern-day slave routes. Our company has more than 100,000 drivers all over the country, all over the world. And so it made perfect sense to train them to see the red flags. We don't want them jumping out there and doing things on their own, so we want them to call a phone number, the hotline, and let law enforcement intervene.
因此,制定政策 是最好的开始方式之一。 第二种方法是对员工进行教育。 公司可以长期对员工进行培训, 告诉他们人口贩卖的征兆和危险信号。 这是我们公司 能发挥重大作用的关键时刻。 我们国家的高速公路、 机场和货车站点 被用作了现代的奴隶运输点。 我们公司有超过10万名司机 遍布全国和全世界。 因此训练他们识别危险信号 就很有必要。 我们并不想他们自己挺身而出, 单枪匹马解决问题, 我让他们打电话,拨热线, 让执法部门介入。
So to do this, we teamed up with an organization called Truckers Against Trafficking. This Colorado-based organization had web-based support and materials that we gave to our truck drivers that gave them exactly what they needed to spot the red flags. Like, hearing CB chatter on their radios about girls at nearby exits. Or, seeing underaged women emerging from vehicles in the truck stop parking lots. When we rolled out this training, a few brave drivers admitted they had seen these women, knocking on the cabs in the truck stops, looking for customers. Now, they said that they weren't buying. But they also didn't know enough to make a call. And that's what we want them to do.
为了实现这一点,我们与 一个名为 “卡车司机反对人口贩卖”的组织合作。 这个组织位于科罗拉多州, 有网站提供支持,有宣传材料, 提供给卡车司机们, 让他们能准确识别危险信号。 比如,听见民用波段中, 有人在讨论高速出口的姑娘们。 或者在卡车停靠点 看到未成年女性下车。 我们重复进行这样的训练, 有一些勇敢的司机 就会承认他们看到过这样的女人, 在卡车停靠点敲驾驶室的门, 寻找顾客。 他们说自己没有参与。 但他们也同样没有打电话。 这就是我们想让他们做的。
TAT's organization -- Truckers Against Trafficking -- also emphasizes the need for men to talk to other men about web-based sex buying and not buying commercial sex. They feature men in uniform, proudly proclaiming why they don't buy. If we're going to see a cultural shift in this atrocity, we need men talking to other men about the underlying issues fueling demand. Because sometimes, Johns don't even know that they're purchasing girls who are enslaved.
TAT组织—— “卡车司机反对人口贩卖”—— 同样强调,男人应该告诉其他男人 关于在线性交易网站的事, 劝他们不要进行商业性交易。 他们穿上制服, 骄傲地宣称自己为什么不参与。 如果我们想从文化层面 改变这种暴行, 我们需要男人来劝说其他男人 停止这种刺激需求的行为。 因为有时候,约翰们自己也不知道 他们在购买服务的女孩是被奴役的。
Which brings me to my final way that businesses can help. Every business has a special resource or a secret sauce or resource that they can bring to fight human trafficking. For example, Visa, Master Card and American Express refuse to process transactions from backpage.com, an online sex site that sold commercial sex to the tune of nine million dollars a month. In April of 2018, backpage.com and affiliated websites were shut down, and the FBI seized all their assets.
这就引出了公司 能提供帮助的最后一种方式。 每家公司都有特别的 或者独特的资源 能用来与人口贩卖做斗争。 比如,维萨卡、万事达卡 和美国运通卡 可以拒绝在backpage.com 网站上进行支付, 这是一家在线性交易网站 每月交易额达到900万美元。 2018年4月,backpage.com 及其下属网站被关停, 联邦调查局查封了他们的资产。
Hiring survivors is another way that any company can help. Randstad, an organization that works with companies to find survivors who need good jobs, has an excellent program, called Hire Hope. We've used this program; we know that it works. In addition to training their flight attendants and their airline crew, Delta Air Lines also offers SkyMiles, through a program called SkyWish, to survivors to help them escape their traffickers and reunite with their families. There are thousands of things that businesses can do. They just have to decide what to do to join the fight.
任何一家公司还可以通过 雇佣受害者来提供帮助。 Randstad, 是一家与公司开展合作的组织, 它帮助寻找那些需要找工作的幸存者, 他们推出了一个非常好的项目, 叫“雇佣希望”。 我们参与过这个项目, 知道它是有效的。 通过对空乘和机组人员 进行附加训练, 达美航空公司 通过SkyWish项目提供里程积分, 帮助幸存者逃离人贩子 与家人团聚。 企业可以做很多事情。 他们只需想清楚 如何来参与这场战斗。
No one can justify slavery today. But I believe it remains one of the greatest civil rights atrocities of our time. Fortunately, the business community is uniquely positioned to help train their employees, to enforce policies and to help use their special resources to fight human trafficking.
今天无人能为奴隶制辩解。 但我相信,这仍然是 当今时代对公民权 最大的践踏之一。 幸运的是,商界位于独特的地位, 可以训练雇员, 推进政策 利用他们特有的资源 跟人口贩卖做斗争。
And what about you? What if you decided to learn the red flags? What if you decided to look at the signs that are all around you and make a call? There is no penalty for calling law enforcement when you see something that doesn't sit right. Together, we can all protect our children, we can educate the workforces around us and improve society, where we all live and work with John.
那你们呢? 是不是决定要学习那些危险的信号? 是不是决定观察一下身边的种种迹象 然后打电话? 给执法部门打电话, 通报你发现的异常情况, 你不会受罚。 携起手来, 我们可以保护自己的孩子, 教育身边的员工, 改良社会, 毕竟,约翰就在你我身边。
Thank you.
谢谢大家。
(Applause)
(掌声)