Today is the first day of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) five-day annual awareness and outreach effort to educate commercial motor vehicle drivers, motor carriers, law enforcement officers and the general public about the crime of human trafficking, the signs to look for and what to do if you suspect someone is being trafficked.
This week, law enforcement jurisdictions, motor carrier companies and transportation safety organizations in the U.S. will track their human trafficking awareness and outreach activities and submit that data to the Alliance. CVSA will gather and analyze the data and report the results this summer.
In the months leading up to the Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative, CVSA educated its membership and the general public on human trafficking through webinars, social media, articles, radio appearances and online resources.
The Alliance partnered with TAT (formerly Truckers Against Trafficking) to distribute wallet cards, posters and window decals, which are still available upon request.
In addition, CVSA, in collaboration with TAT, worked with the Paramount/CBS network to conduct a nationwide digital media campaign using human trafficking awareness videos, which will air during commercial breaks of streaming television shows and movies on Pluto TV, Paramount+ and local streaming service EYEQ Local. The videos feature a human trafficking survivor, truck driver and commercial vehicle enforcement officer and are available for public use and distribution in 15-second, 30-second and five-minute versions.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. Coercion may be subtle or overt, physical or psychological.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics’ recently released report on human trafficking incidents reported by law enforcement found that in 2022 there were an estimated 2,950 incidents of human trafficking involving an estimated 3,570 victimizations.
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If you suspect someone is in a human trafficking situation or you are the victim of human trafficking, call 911. The U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline is also available at 888-373-7888 or text 233733. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Support is provided in more than 200 languages, and all calls are confidential and answered live by highly trained anti-trafficking hotline advocates.
To find out what your local jurisdiction is doing to increase human trafficking awareness, contact the agency/department responsible for overseeing commercial motor vehicle safety within your state or territory.
CVSA is comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. As a North American organization, Canada and Mexico will also be participating in CVSA’s 2025 Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative. In Canada, the initiative is scheduled for Feb. 17-21, and in Mexico, it will be March 17-21.
HTAI is part of CVSA’s Human Trafficking Prevention Program. The program seeks to reduce human trafficking throughout North America through coordinated enforcement and investigative and educational awareness measures within the commercial motor vehicle industry.
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Original article published by CVSA