photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

The Carnegie Building in downtown Lawrence, located at 200 W. Ninth St.

With the FIFA World Cup approaching, members of the hospitality industry will participate in a training later this week focused on recognizing the signs of human trafficking and the available resources to help keep the community safe.

The training will be held on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Carnegie Building, 200 W. Ninth St., and will be hosted by Explore Lawrence and Lawrence 2026, the communitywide initiative in Douglas County preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, The event will be facilitated by the Willow Domestic Violence Center and the Sexual Trauma and Abuse CARE Center.

The World Cup could increase human trafficking and prostitution activity, particularly in host cities, as large amounts of people enter the community with disposable income. In response, organizations and law enforcement in host cities have been working to implement anti-trafficking measures and awareness campaigns.

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which has been operating since 2007, in 2024, there were 126 cases identified in Kansas with 230 victims identified in those cases. That was an increase of 191% from 2023, which had 59 identified cases with 79 victims. Data from 2025 is not yet available.

People can register for the event at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLr-aaANtmOR9g0fYzcUhGI-bR-0L4vCRDKHTpsGLZ44hPXQ/viewform?fbclid=IwY2xjawQAG-tleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJkd3pvM1F5TzhFV2NpUGlac3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHh5puOSxfnJmhAul2QABXzQb_YWRE-ilalFvJmrfDJRiJZeHUMKUyIq2q9Uc_aem_en43MOoQgejauRVQJE63UQ.