Hilton Hotel Cancels TEXXXAS Expo, Concerns Over Sexual Exploitation

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2016 -- At the urging of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Hilton Worldwide and Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), a third-party management services provider, have cancelled their arrangement to host the TEXXXAS pornography expo originally scheduled to take place August 17–20 at the Hilton Houston Galleria Area Hotel. NCOSE commends and thanks Hilton Worldwide for its commitment to protecting human dignity and preventing sexual exploitation.

"I want to publicly thank Hilton Worldwide, its CEO Christopher Nassetta, and HVMG for their decision to cancel the contract with the TEXXXAS pornography expo," said Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. "This event had the potential to facilitate an increased demand for prostitution, and sex trafficking, in the local area. This would have partly resulted from the demand for commercial sex both at the expo and surrounding after parties at local strip clubs. I am so grateful to Hilton Worldwide, because within 48 hours of being informed of the exploitive consequences of the TEXXXAS expo, Hilton cancelled the event. Hilton executives displayed laudable principles of conscious capitalism through these actions. I hope that they will codify these decisions with a brand-wide policy to not host sexually exploitive conferences or events of any kind, and that the entire hotel industry will follow suit. I urge all other hotel chains to refuse to host this TEXXXAS expo in favor of community and guest safety."

In a communication informing NCOSE of the cancellation, a Hilton representative stated: "Hilton is committed to respecting human rights and preventing sexual exploitation and we continuously review our policies to ensure we provide a welcoming environment for guests, employees and members of our communities."

"Last year, Hilton Worldwide adopted a policy to no longer sell on-demand pornography due to the brand's desire to provide guests with a safe and sexploitation-free environment," Hawkins stated. "Hilton's leadership preceded the decisions by several other hotel chains—Hyatt, Starwood, and Intercontinental Hotels Group—to also stop distributing pornography, worldwide. Research shows that pornography is linked to increased sexual violence against women, increased sexual dysfunction, and decreased brain matter in regions for impulse control. Any hotel that refuses to promote pornography is therefore a safer, and more family friendly, environment."

"The TEXXXAS pornography expo was to be held in Houston just a few weeks prior to the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (CESE) Summit, which will take place September 29-October 1," Hawkins added. "The CESE Summit is the antithesis to the TEXXXAS pornography expo. Instead of promoting sexploitation, the CESE Summit will focus on educating and training concerned citizens and experienced leaders working to combat sex trafficking, pornography, prostitution, child sexual exploitation and more. The public is welcome to register for this three-day event, and can also register for a one-day Porn Harms Conference, which provides training on the neurological, psychological, and sociological effects of pornography."

To learn more about the CESE Summit visit: http://endexploitationmovement.com/summit-2016/

CONTACT: Haley Halverson
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