Earlier this December the organization where I am interning, Human Rights First, held a two-day human rights summit at the Newseum. Panels covered a variety of human rights issues, and you can find a full list of speakers and topics here.
I found the panel on the subject of human trafficking to be especially thought-provoking. A video of the discussion in its entirety can be found here. Letty Ashworth, the General Manager of Global Diversity at Delta Airlines, spoke about Delta's Blue Lightning Initiative, which is a voluntary training program for employees that teaches them to spot signs indicative of trafficking situations. Delta was one of the first major airlines in the country to take up this cause.
Since the program is still in its infancy it is difficult to measure its long-term impact, but the program has been successful thus far in that since its implementation on September 9, 2013, 47,000 employees have been trained worldwide. Since the training began the airline has had a number of incidents reported. Ms. Ashworth noted that one of the benefits of the program is that employees now feel empowered to make the call and to escalate a potentially hazardous situation.
I found the panel on the subject of human trafficking to be especially thought-provoking. A video of the discussion in its entirety can be found here. Letty Ashworth, the General Manager of Global Diversity at Delta Airlines, spoke about Delta's Blue Lightning Initiative, which is a voluntary training program for employees that teaches them to spot signs indicative of trafficking situations. Delta was one of the first major airlines in the country to take up this cause.
Since the program is still in its infancy it is difficult to measure its long-term impact, but the program has been successful thus far in that since its implementation on September 9, 2013, 47,000 employees have been trained worldwide. Since the training began the airline has had a number of incidents reported. Ms. Ashworth noted that one of the benefits of the program is that employees now feel empowered to make the call and to escalate a potentially hazardous situation.
Ms. Ashworth hopes that Delta will lead the way for other companies and businesses, but explains that many companies are hesitant to implement similar programs for a number of reasons. It took over a year for Delta to do the groundwork to put together a basic program and to get everyone on board. Many companies do not have budgets to hire teams for trafficking issues, and are scared that there will be a negative impact on their brand or their profits if they associate themselves with the issue of human trafficking. At a basic level, Ms. Ashworth explains that many are simply scared of the unknown and of what they may discover once they dip their toe into the water.
Hopefully, Delta's Blue Lightning Initiative will pave the way for other businesses to get involved with the issue of human trafficking. At the very least, Delta's involvement has opened up a dialogue surrounding the ways that businesses can take responsibility for human rights violations that occur within their domain. Change starts at the top, and Delta has provided an example of a successful business that has tackled the terrifying issue of trafficking head on.
© Elizabeth "Elise" Sidamon-Eristoff December 4, 2013
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