Cavallo is a survivor of human trafficking. Now she’s an advocate, speaker, and author who raises awareness. She believes education about this crime is critical.
“How do you identify a victim? How do you identify a trafficker? And this is something that’s very difficult because they can look like me. They can look like you,” Cavallo said. “There’s no face that comes to it because they could be anybody and that’s why it doesn’t discriminate.”
Cavalla said she’s supportive of a new bipartisan proposal that would expand training.
Currently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) runs the Blue Campaign , which provides training to law enforcement and members of the private sector.
Lawmakers said people who work in entertainment, hospitality, and transportation may be the first line of defense for identifying suspected human trafficking.
But Cavallo believes this training shouldn’t be limited to certain careers.
“It has to be everywhere. It has to be across the board,” she said. “Because human trafficking affects people at amusement parks, it affects people in the modeling industry, in, at schools, it’s happening at schools.”
Cavallo also believes survivors must be a central part of the training.
“Bring survivors to the table not as tokens, but bringing survivors to the table so they could be heard so they could be seen so they could share their lived experience,” she said.
Cavallo added that her book, “A Survivor’s Secrets,” has resources for students, parents, and caregivers.
“The Human Trafficking Awareness Training Recognition Act would complement our industry’s anti-trafficking efforts by providing important third-party validation for hotels’ training and prevention initiatives,” said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey in a written statement. “We are grateful to Reps. Valadao and Carter for introducing this important bill and look forward to helping them pass it into law.”
The Department of Homeland Security arrested more than 2,600 people for human trafficking-related offenses last year. The agency also helped more than 730 victims.
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