Polaris and IHG Hotels & Resorts host anti-human trafficking forum to reveal insights from survivor study

Atlanta Businesses, First Lady of Georgia Marty Kemp Speak on Advancing Anti-Trafficking Efforts and Supporting Survivors

ATLANTA, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IHG Hotels & Resorts and its partner Polaris, a leading organization in the fight against human trafficking, hosted a forum in Atlanta, Ga. on Wednesday, February 22 to unveil findings from Polaris' National Survivor Study (NSS). Survivors of human trafficking shared insights on the conditions that make people vulnerable to trafficking and the barriers to rebuilding their lives. Elected officials and executives from Atlanta's top companies also discussed what the State of Georgia and the business community are doing to help to support survivors and stop human trafficking.

The NSS is a scientifically rigorous and survivor-led research project designed to reveal the experiences and needs of human trafficking survivors in an effort to design more effective strategies to eradicate this crime.

Key study insights include:

• Prior to their trafficking, survivors reported experiencing vulnerabilities at alarmingly high rates, including 83% having experienced poverty and 96% having suffered abuse (physical, sexual, emotional).
• At time of exit, 75% of respondents reported support in accessing behavioral or mental health services as one of their top needs.
• Roughly 40% of respondents reported some kind of criminal record as a result of their trafficking experience, hindering their chances for employment.
• Survivors' income lags the rest of the population, with 43% of respondents making under $25,000 per year after exiting trafficking, compared to 26% of the general U.S. population.
• Traffickers often exploit victims through misuse of their identity for various financial schemes and over 60% of respondents reported experiencing financial abuse by their trafficker.

Catherine Chen, CEO, Polaris, said: "This event highlighted critical findings from the National Survivor Study that paint a detailed picture of the arc of trafficking – from the conditions that make people susceptible, to the many challenges survivors face after their exploitation. The NSS offers a virtual roadmap for policymakers and allies seeking to make change, and I'm hopeful the dialogue will bring more awareness to the ways we can support survivors. I'd like to thank IHG Hotels & Resorts who hosted the forum, and all the speakers for their allyship in ending human trafficking."

Elie Maalouf, CEO, Americas, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: "IHG's purpose in convening this conversation with our partner Polaris, trafficking survivors, elected officials and businesses is two-fold – to keep trafficking prevention in the spotlight, but also shine a new light on barriers that prevent survivors' livelihoods. Putting a stop to trafficking requires deep collaboration and commitment, from the hotel training we require across more than 4,300 Americas IHG hotels to partnering with our industry, non-profits and government. I want to thank the survivor leaders who bravely spoke, First Lady of Georgia Marty Kemp, Attorney General of Georgia Chris Carr and President of Social Impact for The UPS Foundation Nikki Clifton for sharing their commitments and expertise."

First Lady of Georgia Marty Kemp, said: "In Georgia, we have made great strides in the fight against human trafficking by empowering law enforcement to pursue offenders and creating new avenues of support for survivors. As we see in this report, there is still more work to be done. We are continuing to raise awareness of human trafficking and find ways to provide survivors the resources they need on their paths to recovery."

IHG has had a longstanding commitment to fight human trafficking and improve the lives of survivors through various partnerships with organizations including Polaris, ECPAT-USA, It's A Penalty and Wellspring Living. In January, IHG also donated $500,000 to support the AHLA Foundation No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Survivor Fund as part of the hotel industry's united front to end trafficking. Additionally, IHG offers free anti-human trafficking training, which is a required brand standard for all colleagues to complete across more than 4,300 hotels in the Americas.

Named after the North Star, an historical symbol of freedom, Polaris is leading a social justice movement to fight sex and labor trafficking at the massive scale of the problem -- nearly 28 million people worldwide robbed of the freedom to choose how they live and work. For more than a decade, Polaris has assisted thousands of victims and survivors through the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, helped ensure countless traffickers were held accountable, and built the largest known U.S. data set on actual trafficking experiences. With the guidance of survivors, we use that data to improve the way trafficking is identified, how victims and survivors are assisted, and how communities, businesses and governments can prevent human trafficking by transforming the underlying inequities and oppressions that make it possible.

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