Attorney General Andy Beshear called human trafficking “modern-day slavery” and pledged Wednesday to continue his push to stamp it out in Kentucky.
“If we continue to work day in and day out to fight for inches, those inches will become yards,” he told Kentucky Baptist leaders in Louisville.
Beshear has made an effort to stop human trafficking a top priority for his administration by pulling together members of Kentucky’s public and private sectors, including faith groups like the Kentucky Baptist Convention, to join in the fight.
“Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world,” he said. “It’s estimated that there are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Twenty-six percent are children. That is 5 million children.”
Beshear said none of the children are responsible for the situation they’ve been placed in.
“There’s no such thing in the commonwealth of Kentucky as a child prostitute,” he said. “That child is a victim of human trafficking and needs our help.”
The attorney general’s office has led an initiative to train hotel employees to recognize signs of people who are being sex trafficked so that they can alert authorities. The office has done the same in the trucking industry because sex trafficking tends to be prevalent at truck stops.
Thanks to a federal grant, the attorney general’s office also has hired a full-time investigator who’s singly focused on the crack down on human trafficking.
Beshear said human trafficking is a $150 billion industry worldwide and a $32 billion industry in the United States. He said it affects people who most need help: “the lost, the lonely, the left behind.”
“It is modern day slavery that still exists in our country,” he said.
Paul Chitwood, executive director of the 750,000-member Kentucky Baptist Convention, said the organization wants to be part of the solution that wipes out “the evils of human trafficking.”
“We want to do all we can to address this issue that continues to grow worse,” he said.
One of the most practical ways KBC has gotten involved is to pressure hotels to train their employees to recognize human trafficking. The organization does that by refusing to do business with hotels that don’t provide the training.
Only hotels that provide the training are eligible to house Kentucky Baptist leaders who gather for training seminars as well as massive annual meetings that draw people from across the state.
Beshear expressed his appreciation to the Kentucky Baptist Convention, the state’s largest religious organization.
“I want to thank you all for being an initiator, for being a big part of how this initiative has come about,” he said. “In all of our human trafficking initiatives, you’ve been right there with us.”
By Kentucky Today
