In Good Company: How Corporate Social Responsibility Can Protect Rights and Aid Efforts to End Child Sex Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Authors

Erika George, Boston University School of LawFollow
Scarlet R. Smith

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2013

ISSN

0028-7873

Publisher

New York University School of Law

Language

en-US

Abstract

The principal contribution of this Article is to show that, in many cases, the private sector, in cooperation with law enforcement, can initiate and implement policies that help increase the likelihood that buyers and traffickers are caught ultimately making access to child sex workers more difficult. Most commentary regarding child sex trafficking focuses on the failures of local law enforcement to find a solution. However, this Article argues that the private business sector can effectively supplement the efforts of law enforcement, nongovernmental organizations, and international human rights initiatives to protect exploited children. In Part I, this Article first introduces the supply-side of the child sex industry by offering an overview of the child victims and the traffickers that coerce and control them. Next, the demand-side of the child sex business is introduced by providing an overview of the profits and the buyers that drive the demand in the child sex trafficking industry. Finally, Part I examines how trafficking transactions implicate the tourism sector. Part II of the Article reviews federal laws enacted to protect children from being exploited in the sex trafficking industry and discusses the failures of law enforcement to properly protect trafficked children. In Part III, the Article surveys international human rights initiatives and policies that are designed to strengthen the potential of the private sector to protect children through assuming the responsibility consistent with newly articulated international norms that regulate the role of business enterprises with respect to human rights. In conclusion, the Article argues that the private sector is well situated to supplement existing laws and the efforts of law enforcement with socially responsible policies and specific practices designed to make the business of abusing children a more costly proposition for buyers and sellers. By taking a proactive stance to implement codes of conduct that are consistent with the responsibility of business to respect the rights of children, the hospitality industry can avoid legal risks and achieve financial rewards. Most significantly, it is argued that through collective efforts, the hotel and tourism industries can help protect children's human rights and end abuse.

Recommended Citation

Erika George & Scarlet R. Smith, In Good Company: How Corporate Social Responsibility Can Protect Rights and Aid Efforts to End Child Sex Trafficking and Modern Slavery , in 46 New York University Journal of International Law and Politics 55 (2013).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3848