LAS VEGAS, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- After years of
independent anti-human trafficking activity MGM Resorts has signed
ECPAT's Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code), a
worldwide network of organizations working to end the sexual
exploitation of children. ECPAT supports shelters for survivors and
law enforcement training, conducts a wide range of research of
human trafficking to inform policy making and advocates for change
with governments, business and other societal institutions.
MGM Resorts has already implemented several measures against
human trafficking, including establishing relevant policies,
procedures and practices, as well as educating and training
employees. Joining ECPAT gives renewed focus to these
commitments and provides the Company with an additional platform to
reinforce its internal efforts with enhanced collaboration and
engagement with external partners and resources.
Prominent among MGM's standing anti-human trafficking commitment
is its active participation in the Southern Nevada Human
Trafficking Task Force – an external partnership that convenes
government officials, law enforcement, business representatives and
community members to address human trafficking. MGM hosted
and sponsored two Task Force conferences in 2013 and 2014 and will
repeat this sponsorship again. Furthermore, MGM actively
engages in a nightlife compliance industry group, Z.O.N.E., which
promotes best practices to fight the use of the nightclub industry
as a venue for human trafficking.
"As a leader in the entertainment and hospitality industry, MGM
Resorts has for many years taken a strong stand – as a matter of
policy and business practices ‒ against human trafficking as a
plague on human society that should not be tolerated in any
community," said Phyllis A. James,
MGM's Chief Diversity & Corporate Responsibility Officer. "Our
Company has undertaken concrete steps to raise employee awareness,
assure that our properties are not used to imperil children or
other trafficking victims and support nonprofit organizations
involved in combatting this social evil and/or providing victim
services."
For example, in 2018 MGM Resorts granted $250,000 to fund three major anti-human
trafficking programs led by the McCain Institute for International
Leadership at Arizona State University
– the launch of a certificate program to train professionals to
serve runaway and homeless youth; an education program to equip
educators with prevention strategies; and commencement of a new
collaboration among business leaders, subject matter experts and
government representatives to drive private industry to address
forced labor in its supply chain. Moreover, in 2018 The MGM Resorts
Foundation donated $30,000 in
proceeds from its 2017 Women's Leadership Conference to three local
Las Vegas nonprofits dedicated to
treatment and rehabilitation services for human trafficking victims
– the Rape Crisis Center ($10,000),
The Embracing Project ($10,000) and
The SEEDS of Hope program sponsored by the Salvation Army
($10,000).
Membership in ECPAT will add MGM's voice to the global community
of opponents of child sexual exploitation, and will enhance the
Company's access to current research and knowledge, advocacy and
best practices aimed at the fundamental goal of ending the
commercial sexual exploitation of children and all other human
trafficking victims.
ABOUT MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global
entertainment company with national and international locations
featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art
meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical
entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant,
nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive,
iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts
portfolio encompasses 30 unique hotel and destination gaming
offerings including some of the most recognizable resort brands in
the industry. Expanding throughout the U.S. and around the world,
the company recently acquired the operations of Empire City Casino
in New York and Hard Rock Rocksino
in Ohio, which was rebranded as
MGM Northfield Park. In 2018, MGM Resorts opened MGM Springfield in
Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in
Macau, and the first
Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The 83,000 global employees of MGM
Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of
FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies®. For more
information visit us at www.mgmresorts.com.
ABOUT ECPAT-USA
ECPAT-USA is the leading
anti-child trafficking policy organization in the United States seeking to end the
commercial, sexual exploitation of children through awareness,
advocacy, policy, and legislation. ECPAT-USA is a member of ECPAT International, a
network of organizations in more than 90 countries with one common
mission: to eliminate the sexual exploitation of children. For more
information, visit ecpatusa.org.
Media Contact
Kenthea
Pedraza
MGM Resorts International
Kpedraza@mgmresorts.com
702-692-6898
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SOURCE MGM Resorts International