Now that January, which serves as National Human Trafficking Awareness month, is over, Oregon Trucking Associations (OTA) knows that the battle against this insidious crime is just beginning. That’s why OTA has issued a challenge to its carrier members, and all Oregon trucking companies, to get their drivers TAT trained.
Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is dedicated to creating a mobile army of transportation professionals to assist law enforcement in the recognition and reporting of human trafficking, in order to aid in the recovery of victims and the arrest of their perpetrators. Their certification program recognizes that drivers can play a vital role in combating this crime.
On any given day, there are tens of thousands of people being trafficked into and within the United States. A large percentage of these victims are minors, often young females, who are brutally forced to perform commercial acts of sex or labor against their will. Oregon police report that they encounter three to five victims of human trafficking per week; 80 percent of these victims are female, 50 percent are children. Since 2007, Oregon has enacted roughly 25 bills to address human trafficking, but the problem continues to grow.
Professional truck drivers are the eyes and ears of America’s roadways, playing a vital role in ending modern-day slavery. Over the past decade, America’s trucking industry has placed itself on the frontlines of this important fight, and has made meaningful contributions in the comprehensive effort to identify the victims and perpetrators of this heinous act. To date, at least 708 likely human trafficking cases have been generated by truck drivers who witnessed suspicious activity and reported it. Truck drivers have identified 1,296 human trafficking victims, and made nearly 2,700 calls to the national hotline after noticing questionable activity while out in the field.
“Oregon’s truck drivers are on the frontlines in many ways, including in the work to identify and report potential human trafficking situations,” comments OTA President & CEO Jana Jarvis, “It’s vital that they know what to look for and what to do, which is why we made this challenge to our members and all Oregon trucking companies to get drivers certified with Truckers Against Trafficking.”
TAT training is relatively easy to complete, given the rigorous training commercial drivers go through to get behind the wheel. TAT offers a selection of courses, videos and a follow-up quiz to test a driver’s knowledge. TAT also has resources, including a mobile app, which truck drivers can take on the road to remind them of what to look for and how to report what they encounter.
“We hope that Oregon trucking companies, and independent owner-operators, will meet this challenge,” continues Jarvis, “Imagine if just 50 percent of the almost 9,000 trucking companies and over 23,000 drivers in Oregon complete the TAT certification — that’s a lot of trained eyes on the lookout for human trafficking.”
- To read more about trucking’s involvement in the fight against human trafficking, click here.
- To learn more about Oregon’s trucking industry, please view the latest Oregon Trucking Fast Facts.
