truckers against trafficking_truckers_the_next_great_abolitionist

Truckers: The Next Great Abolitionist Heroes?

1Copyright Chapter 61 ministries

Truckers against Trafficking (“TAT”) was established in March 2009 as an initiative of Chapter 61 Ministries in order to educate members of the trucking industry about domestic sex trafficking & what they can do about it.

Chapter 61 Ministries was formed in 2008 with the purpose to end injustice in the world….our target issue became human trafficking.

Through a national human trafficking awareness conference organized by one of our co-founders in Colorado, we were able to meet with top abolitionist organizations & learn from them. We began to see how various organizations were attacking the problem.

During this time our attention was drawn to the trucking industry and the thought …..why not mobilize the trucking industry in the fight to end human trafficking, specifically the trafficking of victims for commercial sex purposes.

Copyright Chapter 61 ministries

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Members of the trucking industry are the sentries, the patrollers, of our nation’s highways. They are the eyes & ears of our country’s road system and see, hear and are aware of things happening that the general public only knows or is aware of in part.

Traffickers are always transporting victims throughout our nation & use our highways for their criminal activities & monetary gain. They are busy in the purview, the arena, the backyard, of the trucking industry.


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Thus, truckers and others in the trucking industry by the very nature of their jobs, their presence across the US & their use of many places traffickers & victims frequent such as truck stops (aka travel plazas), gas stations, restaurants, rest areas, have the opportunity to play a powerful role in the fight against human trafficking.

If they can be recognized – if their victims can be recognized as trafficking victims – members of the trucking industry can play a critical part in “cleaning up their own backyard” & shutting down a great deal of human trafficking activity by calling the national hotline, reporting that activity & enabling law enforcement to then go to work arresting perpetrators & rescuing victims.

This will result in favorable press for the trucking industry & reveal members of the industry as heroes and modern-day abolitionists who are a formidable force when working together.


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With this in mind, Chapter 61 started Truckers Against Trafficking to educate, equip, empower & mobilize all aspects & members of the trucking industry to fight human trafficking as part of their regular jobs.

Truckers Against Trafficking (aka “TAT”) is a name, an identity, a brand that we want all 8 million or more members of the trucking industry to associate with, support, identify as & act in accordance with, whether they’re on-the-road drivers, owners, owner-operators, association staff, travel plaza owners, managers, employees or are involved in any real capacity with the trucking industry.

Anyone can participate in this initiative, and, in fact, Chapter 61 has formed close partnerships with a number of organizations & individuals both within & outside of the trucking industry to move this initiative forward.


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Wallet Cards

To put our wallet card in the hands of every member of the trucking industry in America.

Our wallet card give s warning signs of human trafficking is taking place & the National Hotline number if someone has a tip.

Thousands of cards have been handed out to truckers & to many trucking companies & they are sharing these cards with other drivers & employees.


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TAT Posters / Brochures

Have our TAT posters posted in all truck stops, rest areas & truck carrier break rooms across the United States.

These posters serve to create education/awareness among truckers & show that truckers are a leader in this fight.

Our brochure gives an overview of TAT & its history and purpose.


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TAT Training DVD Chapter 61 has partnered with iEmpathize to create a TAT

training video. The 10 minute DVD, which will be ready for release soon, will give a brief, yet comprehensive overview of domestic sex trafficking & what the trucking industry can do to help end it.

Our goal is to have our DVD made part of orientation for all truck stop & travel plaza employees, all students of private & publicly funded truck driving schools, all truck drivers employed via major carriers or owner/operators.

A 3 minute trailer from the DVD can be seen on our websites, www.chapter61.com or www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com.


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Call National Hotline - have members of the trucking industry educated & equipped to recognize human trafficking when they see it & to fight it by calling the national hotline – 1-888-373-7888 – to report what they see. TAT’s simple message… Make the call, save lives, with the national hotline number….stresses the importance of safety.

Often times, when confronted with injustice, we want to take action right away to end human suffering & help the victim(s). Because of the magnitude of human trafficking & the enormous amount of money involved in this industry, rescue & restoration must be thoroughly planned & executed by experienced organizations, who work with the local officials (non-corrupt officials) to free slaves.

Traffickers can be violent & will use deadly force to protect their “investments.” Botched rescues can be both dangerous & costly to the victims who will usually be immediately transported to a new location & often beaten, even if they had nothing to do with the attempted rescue.


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For the trucking industry to view Human Trafficking as a Safety Issue - have fleet owners, trucking companies, trucking & travel plaza associations & people from every area of the trucking industry make human trafficking a safety issue on their plate & work together as Truckers Against Trafficking.


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Awareness/Education - Continue to spread awareness/education regarding the powerful role the members of the transportation industry can play in combating human trafficking:

TAT Website – www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com – through the Christian Truckers Network, went up in March 2009. The site is a place where members of the trucking industry can gain a comprehensive view of human trafficking, learn what they can do to fight it and pick up tools to help stamp out this horrific crime.

Our wallet cards and posters can be downloaded from the website. These items and our brochure can also be requested through [email protected].


TAT Newsletters – Our newsletter keeps interested people informed of TAT activities, progress and other pertinent information. Our newsletter can be downloaded from the website or requested through Chapter 61 Ministries at [email protected].

On-Demand Webinar – this Human Trafficking 101 training can be listened to or watched at any time or any where from the TAT homepage (www.truckersagainsttrafficking.com) or the homepage of Transport for Christ (www.transportforchrist.org), which did the recording. It is trucking-specific. We suggest every person interested in participating in TAT watch this webinar.

Training DVD - Once available, we suggest every person interested in participating in TAT watch this DVD. It will be available for download on the TAT website or by disc at [email protected].


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Trucking Show Presence – TAT tries to have booths at a number of state & local trucking shows, such as the Big Rig show in Tulsa, OK & national trucking shows, like the Great American Trucking Show.

These conventions serve as an opportunity to speak directly to individual truckers & various members of the trucking industry on the issue of human trafficking & how the trucking industry is an invaluable force in hampering trafficking efforts.

Media Outlets - TAT has had articles in Fleet Owner newsletter, The Trucker, Trucker Connection & many association newsletters as well as multiple interviews on numerous trucker-specific radio shows including Dave Nemo & The Lockridge Report on Sirius Roaddog Radio.

In response to this publicity, truckers have called in several tips that we were able to turn over to federal authorities. We’ve also been able to connect law enforcement with some truckers in the DC area.


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Speaking engagements – we speak to targeted audiences such as safety director conferences, NATSO, TCA, ATA conferences and various human trafficking seminars and conferences.

Contacts– TAT has made contact with the American Trucking Association, the national Association of Truck Stop Operators, the Truckload Carriers Association, many of the state trucking associations and the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools to ask for their help in publicizing this initiative and/or implementing & using it. We’ve received that support in numerous cases.

Identity as Protectors/Identifiers – we have created vent window decals & hat pins for truckers who want to be part of helping solve this problem as “Truckers Against Traffickers” (aka “TAT”).


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The 3 minute trailer to TAT’s training video explains TAT’s simple message……make the call, save lives, with the national hotline number.

See truckersagainsttrafficking.com TAT Training Video produced by iEmpathize


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Chapter 61 Ministries

[email protected] or 720-202-1037

National Hotline Number

1-888-373-7888

PowerPoint presented by Crystal Chandler, co-founder of Chapter 61 Ministries, for the 2011 Free the Captives’ Houston, Anti-Human Trafficking Conference.

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