Highway heroes can help fight trafficking

November 27, 2024

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has scheduled its annual U.S. Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative (HTAI) for January 13-17, 2025. The Canadian HTAI is scheduled for February 17-21, 2025, and the Mexican HTAI is scheduled for March 17-21, 2025.

CVSA's five-day annual campaign helps raise awareness of human trafficking in the trucking industry to improve roadway safety for women, men, and children across North America. Drivers are uniquely positioned to help, since they're the ones on highways, at gas stations, and at rest stops who may see key indicators of the crime in time to call for help.

Goals of the campaign

The goals of the HTAI campaign are to:

Educate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and other industry employees about the signs of human trafficking,
Encourage CMV drivers and other employees to looks for those signs, and
Empower CMV drivers and other employees to report the crime.

Why it matters

Human trafficking impacts millions of women, men, and children every year, posing major threats to transportation safety. In an effort to increase safety, it’s important for industry professionals to play their role in recognizing and reporting crimes when they see them.

Because traffickers often move their victims around and drivers tend to frequent common places where trafficking occurs, commercial drivers can make a major impact on stopping human trafficking when they know the signs of trafficking, how to respond, and who to contact if they suspect a person is being trafficked.

Refer to CVSA’s resources for graphics, outreach materials, informational videos, public service announcements, and more: https://www.cvsa.org/programs/human-trafficking-prevention/resources/

What to do

If anyone sees (or suspects) human trafficking, never attempt to confront or engage with anyone involved in the situation.

Instead, contact local law enforcement directly. Call:

9-1-1, if someone is in immediate danger; or
The National Human Trafficking Hotline, available 24/7:
- Call 888-373-7888, or
- Text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733)

Publish Date

November 27, 2024

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Industry News

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