Position Statement

S.736 (Biaggi)

Support 

Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (“WBASNY”) supports S.736, introduced by Senator Biaggi, which relates to employee human trafficking recognition training and authorizing the establishment of a standardized human trafficking recognition training program for private transportation services.

This bill adds a new section to the Social Services Law to require transportation services such as rail passenger service, motorbus service, and ferry passenger service, to train all customer-facing employees to undergo human trafficking recognition training created by Division of Criminal Justice Services, the Office of Temporary and Disability Services, and the Department of Labor. Specifically, the training will include addressing the nature of human trafficking, the legal definition, how to identify victims, and available resources for victims.

According to the Polaris Project, “[t]raffickers may recruit victims from bus and train stations and will utilize transportation systems to both bring in new victims to their trafficking operations as well as to transport current victims to different places where they will be trafficked and abused.”^[1] “Training for staff on how to identify/respond to human trafficking and developing an employee anti-trafficking and demand reduction policy are critical in disrupting human trafficking.”^[2] At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Transportation has been doing its part since 2012 to combat human trafficking by empowering its transportation employees to recognize and report instances of trafficking.^[3] Given that the State of New York is an epicenter for all modes of domestic and international travel and that the vast majority of trafficked victims are women and children, WBASNY supports this legislation outlining the training of employees who interact frequently with trafficked victims.

WBASNY has a long and honored role in making life better for women and children in our world, by advocating for equality and fair treatment, and will continue to be a powerful force to affect policy change on issues affecting women and children. With over 4,000 members strong, WBASNY speaks as one voice to advocate for equal access to justice for women and children both here in the State of New York and beyond.

^[1] https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking-and-the-transportation-industry/
^[2] Id.
^[3] https://www.transportation.gov/stophumantrafficking