Meeting Planning Firm Leads the Charge to End Child Sex Trafficking
Nix Conference & Meeting Management to sign new Code of Conduct
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
Nix Conference & Meeting Management is leading the charge among meeting planners worldwide to help end child sex trafficking. Nix is initiating a first-ever Meeting Planners Code of Conduct in January, Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and encouraging industry peers and competitors to join them in addressing the issue at every hotel where they do business.
“Child sex trafficking is widespread, occurring right now even at luxury hotels in the United States,” said Kimberly Ritter, Senior Account Manager and coordinator of Nix’ initiative to fight child sex trafficking. “Most hotel executives have no idea this exploitation of children exists at their properties. Once they become aware, however, they can establish policies and train staff to identify and take action against child sex trafficking.”
Nix is the first meeting planning company in the U.S. to sign a Meeting Planner’s Code of Conduct, which they developed in cooperation with ECPAT-USA (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking). They will sign the new code on Wednesday, January 11, 2012, during a Human Trafficking Awareness Day event at the Soulard Preservation Hall, 1921 South Ninth Street, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday January 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
“As meeting and conference planners, we are using our close ties with hotel general managers and other professional resources to raise awareness and help end child sex trafficking,” said Molly Hackett, Principal at Nix.
“This is a wonderful and groundbreaking way to address the issue of child protection in tourism,” said Michelle Guelbart, M.S.W., Private Sector Project Coordinator of ECPAT-USA. “Working with Nix in the conference and meeting management sector is going to open doors that we did not have the resources or connections to access in the past.”
Nix has an extensive reach in the hotel industry, researching more than 700 hotels and visiting more than 50 hotels both within the U. S. and internationally on behalf of their clients each year. As part of their commitment to end child sex trafficking, Nix recently added a clause to their standard Request for Proposal inquiring about hotel policies on human trafficking.
“One hotel responded to our question on human trafficking policies by saying they have pedestrian crosswalks in front of their entrance,” said Jane Quinn, Principal at Nix. “Traffickers, unfortunately, depend on that kind of naivety to carry out their operations.”
Nix discusses child sex trafficking and exploitation in one-on-one meetings with hotel general managers, provides written materials, and encourages them to sign the ECPAT-USA Code of Conduct for hotels.
Nix Conference & Meeting Management first learned about the issue of child sex trafficking in hotels three years ago when a client, the Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph, asked them to inquire about hotel policies on human trafficking while researching sites for a conference.
“This was a request and an issue we had not heard about before,” said Jane Quinn. “As we researched it, we realized we could have a real impact on this crisis.”
In collaboration with the Sisters of St. Joseph, Nix successfully encouraged the Millennium Hotel St. Louis to sign the ECPAT-USA Code of Conduct for hotels in July 2011. That experience inspired Nix to develop a similar code of conduct for their own niche in the industry — meeting and conference planners.
Meeting planners who adopt the Meeting Planner’s Code of Conduct agree to establish an internal social responsibility policy, implement an action plan with objectives and timeframes, and report annually. For more information on the code, contact Kimberly Ritter at (314) 645-1455 or kritter@nixassoc.com.
Nix Conference & Meeting Management, based in St. Louis, has managed meetings, conferences and trade shows for associations, religious organizations, businesses and nonprofits since 1985. Nix has managed events on four continents and in 17 countries. For more information, call (314) 645-1455.
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Mary Schanuel
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314.961.9772
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June 6, 2011
Sisters of Saint Joseph collaborate with St. Louis Hotel and ECPAT to address Human Trafficking
(ST. LOUIS, MO): Human Trafficking is among the many serious issues in need of healing both in St. Louis and throughout the world. While many call it a hidden crime, it exists not only in the St. Louis area, but in virtually every city and town in our country.
After months of collaborative conversation and planning, theU.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph (CSSJ) is excited that the Millennium Hotel St. Louis is taking the steps necessary to sign and implement the six-point ECPAT-USA Code of Conduct. By signing this code the Millennium Hotel St. Louis will take a stand against the sexual exploitation of children by helping ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes) fight child sex tourism. The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, developed by ECPAT, sets a standard of responsible business practices that effectively crack down on child sexual exploitation.
Discussions with the hotel about the complex issue of human trafficking began when the Sisters of Saint Joseph first contracted with the Millennium for their national event. In speaking of the process that will culminate in the signing of the ECPAT Code of Conduct, Sister Kathleen McCluskey, CSJ, Executive Director of the Federation says, “As Jesus taught us, it’s all about building relationships of healing in our world. We wanted to host our national Event at a hotel that supports this mission and spirituality. From the moment they became aware of the horror of human slavery and the role that hotels can play in combating it, the management at the Millennium has been eager to learn and take action.
The Sisters of St. Joseph are pleased to have been partners in a collaboration with the Millennium, ECPAT, and Nix Conference and Meeting Management that has brought us to this important moment. In signing the ECPAT Code, developing policies and procedures for the prevention of trafficking, and educating every person on the staff, the Millennium St. Louis demonstrates a true concern for people, surely for their guests, but also for the world we all live in. They are taking concrete steps to combat a degrading and horrible abuse that threatens the whole human community.”
Of this collaboration, Nix says, Nix Conference & Meeting Management is thankful for the opportunity to work with the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Millennium Hotel St. Louis on this venture. We support the commitment of Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and ECPAT to combat human trafficking. We stand firm in our resolve to protect all children and will unite with others in the industry to bring awareness to the human trafficking issue.
Dominic Smart, General Manager of the Millennium Hotel St. Louis comments, “It is important for all of us to join together to fight human trafficking. Everyone in our hotel will take part in the ECPAT training and be vigilant in helping to keep human trafficking and exploitation of children out of our hotel and our community. Having the Sisters of St. Joseph gather in our hotel brought this issue more clearly to our attention and everyone in the hotel has strong beliefs about it. As a father of three, like any parent, I am sensitive to this cause and feel that every child has a right to a healthy and happy childhood.”
The signing of the EPCAT Code of Conduct will take place on July 12, 2011 at the Millenium Hotel St. Louis during the 2011 Event of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph where close to 900 Sisters and Associates from across the nation and the world will be gathered. Roman Catholic women religious have been key leaders in the national and international movement to stop the demand for human trafficking.
The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph is a dynamic union of all the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the United States who claim a common origin in the foundation at LePuy, France in 1650. Today there are approximately 5,900 vowed members as well as 2,500 Associates in the United States. World-wide there are over 13,000 Sisters of Saint Joseph in over 50 countries.
Background Information
An estimated 850,000 people are trafficked annually worldwide, according to the U.S. State Department, 20,000 of them into the United States. Human trafficking forces men, women, and children into pornography, prostitution and other sexual exploitation, as well as labor exploitation.
In 1998, the realization that trafficking was a growing problem around the world – and that it was being largely unaddressed – led to the formation of a, broad-based coalition of women’s organizations, faith-based groups, children’s groups, labor groups, and health groups. In 2003 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services began educating segments of the public about the horrors of human trafficking. The effort began with members of women’s religious communities who have the potential to educate and influence others on behalf of victims of trafficking.
The Millennium Hotel chain is one of the several hotels working to stop the demand of human trafficking. In signing the EPCAT Code the hotel demonstrates its commitment to create an ethical policy against commercial sexual exploitation of children, to train hotel staff to help identify human trafficking, and to partner with government and social service agencies.
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