We look at human trafficking, how airports play into the issue, and what one organization is doing at airports to address the problem.

Betty Ann Hagenau is the Founder and Executive Director of the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition (BAATC) and Airport Initiative. BAATC has observed a “Move, Work, Sleep” pattern in human trafficking cases and the organization has created a targeted approach to disrupt the cycle at frontline industries: airports, apartments, and hotels. Airport Initiative is the training division of BAATC that brings human trafficking identification training to airport employees.

We look at the scope of the problem, who the victims of human trafficking are, and how airports (large and small) play an unwitting role in the transportation of victims. Betty Ann describes common trafficking myths and the BAATC training-based approach to disrupting human trafficking.

Betty Ann has focused her career on being an anti-trafficking thought leader, and she’s known for her collaborative work with over 100 anti-trafficking organizations and government agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the world. 

Betty Ann spent 18 months interviewing former human traffickers in San Quentin Prison to better understand their lucrative business practices and to inform the development of BAATC’s strategies and programs to train frontline employees in the airline and hospitality industries to effectively identify and report trafficking.

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