Truckers Can Serve as the Next Defense Against Human Trafficking

By Doug Baker, Vice President, Industry Relations, FMI

The images on the evening news all too often depict the atrocities and horrors of human trafficking – with victims found both alive and deceased in cargo trailers on our nation’s highways. Human trafficking is defined as the exploitation of human beings through force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of commercial sex or forced labor.

There are an estimated 50 million victims of human trafficking across the globe, which is why FMI is proud to support Truckers Against Trafficking in its mission to build a mobile army of transportation professionals combating human trafficking.

As FMI builds up to its Asset Protection & Grocery Resilience Conference in March, we are reminded of the role our industry plays in enriching society and how these professionals can bring greater awareness to the very real issue of human trafficking on our roads. Traffickers operate in plain sight and count on the public turning a blind eye. That's why every truck driver (and really the entirety of the driving public that stops at rest stops, gas stations, etc.) should know the red flags to look for that indicate a potential human trafficking situation.

Truckers Against Trafficking has developed tangible tools, such as an app to report instances and be an advocate for victims. The app is available on all mobile platforms, so it’s a resource you and trucking fleets can download as part of your training programs.

There are millions of truck drivers in the U.S. and Canada. Imagine if every one of them was trained to recognize and respond to human trafficking?

Truckers Against Trafficking App