Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that trains

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

s to recognize and report instances of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. This national organization formed in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States, in 2009 and teaches truck drivers about the results of human trafficking. TAT is based in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and its executive director is Kendis Paris. TAT produces anti-trafficking materials which are commonly seen throughout the trucking industry. They have teamed up with law enforcement agencies and trucking companies to provide training on identifying sex trafficking, and some companies require their drivers to go through it. Through their efforts, they have freed hundreds of human trafficking victims. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, the majority of truck drivers who report tips learned about them through TAT.Sex Trafficking at Truck Stops
/ref> The organization began a partnership with

Pilot Flying J Pilot Travel Centers LLC, trade name, doing business as Pilot Flying J, is a North American chain of truck stops in the United States and Canada. The company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The company is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The comp ...

in 2011,

Love's Love's Travel Stops, doing business as Love's (or stylized as Loves), is an American family-owned and -operated chain of more than 650 truck stops in 42 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma ...

in 2013, and the Truckload Carriers Association in 2013. In 2012, the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada-based Persons Against the Crime of Trafficking in Humans was inspired by TAT to initiate TruckSTOP, a campaign that teaches truck drivers how to identify human trafficking victims. TAT was promoted in "Killer Truckers", a 2013

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...

. Also in 2013, Nevada Attorney General

Catherine Cortez Masto Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Nevada, a seat she has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Pa ...

spoke highly of TAT at a forum hosted by Western States Propane. In one successful execution of TAT training, a truck driver called

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

after suspecting human trafficking in a particular situation, and his phone call precipitated the arrest and subsequent conviction of 31 traffickers, the release of nine people from the

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...

, and the fall of an

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

ring that had been active in 13

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

References

{{Reflist American truck drivers Human rights organizations based in the United States Organizations that combat human trafficking Non-profit organizations based in Colorado Occupational organizations Forced prostitution in the United States Human trafficking in the United States 2009 establishments in Oklahoma Organizations established in 2009 501(c)(3) organizations

See also

References