The private sector plays a major role in ensuring profits do not come at the expense of children. Particularly in the travel and hospitality industry, there is both a great responsibility and opportunity to ensure associates have the knowledge and resources to address human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Human traffickers use domestic and international airlines to lure or move victims from one place to another.

As the director of private sector engagement for ECPAT-USA, I work with companies to understand how human traffickers (with a focus on child sex traffickers) may use their infrastructure to exploit people.

Victims of sex trafficking in the United States are most often from the United States, not brought in from overseas. Until the industry understands this, they will be overlooking victims or never understand the role they can play in identifying victims.

Fogle was not charged with child sex trafficking because we still do not recognize the harm caused by buyers when they purchase children for commercial sex.