News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New initiative will provide training for employees of Ky. businesses to spot, report human trafficking

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams speaks in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort on Thursday, announcing a new program to combat human trafficking by raising awareness in the state's business community.
Kentucky Secretary of State's Office
/
Screenshot
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams speaks in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort on Thursday, announcing a new program to combat human trafficking by raising awareness in the state's business community.

A new initiative aimed at raising awareness of human trafficking among Kentucky’s business community was announced Thursday.

Kentucky Businesses Against Trafficking (KBAT) – a program being led by the office of Secretary of State Michael Adams – will provide participating businesses with free trainings and educational materials.

Adams said the Safe At Home program – an initiative launched by his office in 2023 aimed at helping survivors of domestic violence – saw a more than 450% increase in participation in the first year since the legislature expanded the program. That success prompted Adams’ office to look at ways to raise awareness of this different form of abuse, which he called a “modern form of slavery” in a state release.

“To be a survivor of domestic abuse, you have to escape it, and that begs the question of ‘What can we do to help people escape?’ And so this initiative is going to help us raise awareness of this critical issue,” Adams said. “It's a multi-billion dollar industry, and unfortunately, it's one that we have here in Kentucky.”

Participating business representatives and partnering nonprofit leadership appeared at the press conference at the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort alongside Adams.

Candace McGraw, CEO of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, praised the program and called human trafficking an “abhorrent” crime.

“We must raise awareness so we can take action to end trafficking,” she said. “Businesses across the Commonwealth can benefit from the resources and materials provided by Secretary Adams’ office so we can reach more people in the effort to end human trafficking.”

As a part of the initiative, Adams’ office will also coordinate free training sessions for businesses through its partnerships with the Refuge for Women Kentucky and People Against Trafficking Humans (PATH) Coalition of Kentucky. These free trainings will be aimed at teaching employees about human trafficking and how they can spot and report it to authorities.

Deanna Lynn is the executive director of Refuge for Women Kentucky, a nonprofit that houses women who have escaped human trafficking or sexual exploitation. She said that Kentuckians can better help prevent the illegal practice by learning what it looks like.

“There is a really high demand out here to purchase people for their own entertainment,” she said. “And if the only training we have is that somebody is being snatched off the street or smuggled in a car, then we're really missing a huge percentage of what's going on out here.”

Lynn said that most instances of human trafficking begin with someone in the victim’s family or someone the victim is familiar with. She said that victims also rarely recognize themselves as a trafficking victim, something that makes programs like KBAT vital for prevention efforts.

“We want to be discerning when it comes to strangers, but we also want to listen for conversations that are happening in people's relationships, in their homes, in their small groups, in schools and hospitals,” Lynn said. “ You're either born into it, it becomes your normal. If the only thing you know is abuse and trafficking, you just think everybody's living like that.”

The U.S. Department of State estimates that there are upwards of 27 million victims of trafficking in the world at any given time. Data provided by the National Human Trafficking Reporting Hotline indicates that more than 1,000 trafficking cases and nearly 2,500 victims have been identified in Kentucky since 2007.

Interested businesses can apply to participate in the free program at sos.ky.gov.

A native of western Kentucky, Operle earned his bachelor's degree in integrated strategic communications from the University of Kentucky in 2014. Operle spent five years working for Paxton Media/The Paducah Sun as a reporter and editor. In addition to his work in the news industry, Operle is a passionate movie lover and concertgoer.
Related Content