Airbnb funds crucial resources in the fight against human trafficking

2024-11-21 05:38:00 News & Society

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9 September, 2024: As governments, law enforcement agencies and other organizations around the world work to combat human trafficking and exploitation, Airbnb remains committed to using our global reach to support efforts to tackle these issues. While reported incidents on Airbnb are rare, we want to continue playing our part in this important fight - including through our long-standing partnership with Polaris. Today, we’re announcing together with Polaris that the Global Modern Slavery Directory is now available in an additional six languages - Arabic, Russian, Malay, Hindi, Tagalog and Ukrainian. 

The translation of this crucial resource into more languages has been subsidized by Airbnb. This directory serves as an easy-to-use way for victims and survivors of human trafficking and exploitation to quickly get in contact with agencies around the world that tackle these issues, and its availability in more languages will enable more people across the globe to access this important support.

Additionally, Airbnb will also be providing additional funding for Polaris to update their data capabilities to further enhance their ability to support survivors and organizations combating human trafficking.

Patrick McIntyre, Polaris’ Chief Development & External Affairs Officer, said: “The Global Modern Slavery Directory is a vital resource for victims and survivors of human trafficking to identify and contact agencies that are best suited to help them. By making the Directory available in six new languages, we make this resource accessible to more people than ever. Airbnb has been a vital partner in this effort, and we are grateful for their continued support in our pursuit of a world where no one is exploited and everyone has the freedom, power, and opportunity to choose how they live and work.”

Tara Bunch, Airbnb’s Global Head of Operations, said: “While reported incidents on Airbnb are rare, we remain committed to using our platform’s global reach and community to play a role in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation. We’re proud to partner with organizations such as Polaris and support the vital work they do to tackle this issue and support survivors and victims around the world.”

Since 2018, Airbnb has partnered with Polaris - the operator of the US Human Trafficking Hotline - to support the leading organization’s vital work and enable it to harness our global reach. This partnership is one of many measures and initiatives we’ve implemented to help address this issue. These have included:

Engaging and collaborating with stakeholders to combat trafficking through our Trust and Safety Advisory Coalition, which includes anti-trafficking and child safety experts, PACT, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. We have also collaborated on awareness campaigns with experts, including It’s a Penalty.

Becoming the first home sharing platform to sign The Code by ECPAT, affirming that we have implemented and will continue to support its six governing criteria designed to reduce the risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. This commitment spans our platform policies, supplier contracts, employee training, stakeholder engagement, awareness raising and annual reporting on progress.

Serving as a founding member of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s global taskforce to help combat and prevent human trafficking.

Providing training to Airbnb employees regarding the prevention of sexual exploitation and how to report suspected cases, with tens of thousands of employee and partner learners enrolled to date.

Amplifying information for hosts and travelers on how to spot and report concerning behavior, with guidance on helping to stop human trafficking and protecting children from sexual exploitation created with experts.

Expanding our Supplier Code of Ethics to include and reinforce a shared repudiation of sexual exploitation of children.

We have also developed Community Support channels that give hosts, guests and neighbors more ways to report issues to us, including through our 24-hour Safety Line and Neighbourhood Support Line.