Adopting the Code: Human Trafficking and the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

Human trafficking generally and child exploitation in particular is a global problem. While hard data are difficult to obtain in detail due to many unreported and underreported cases, the International Labor Organization (www.ilo.org) estimates that human traffickers earned as much as $150 billion in 2014, making it financially the second largest illicit crime, surpassed only by the sale of drugs. That same study estimated 20.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide, with 5.5 million of those being children.