“Your Roads, Their Freedom”: Introducing FMCSA’s New Human Trafficking Prevention Awareness Campaign
“Your Roads, Their Freedom,” a new campaign from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), launched earlier this week. The campaign empowers and equips commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers with resources and information to recognize and report human trafficking.
Human traffickers use our nation’s transportation systems to facilitate these unimaginable crimes. For example, perpetrators use truck and rest stops, travel centers, and gas stations to transport victims and often linger in these places to “sell” their services. The “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign leverages the unique position of CMV drivers and other transportation-related employees to notice and report potential cases of human trafficking.
Recognize the Indicators
When drivers and other transportation employees know what to look for, they can make a difference in preventing human trafficking. The campaign website, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/stophumantrafficking, includes information and downloadable materials:
· Printable cards listing signs of the crime to keep handy, in both pocket and visor sizes
· Posters to hang in places like truck stops and gas stations
· Social media graphics and newsletter content to support the campaign
Partner organizations can request customizable posters and visor inserts.
In addition, FMCSA will broadcast audio news releases featuring FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson through satellite radio, share announcements on display screens in convenience stores, and post campaign information at gas pumps. The campaign will also include web advertising and posts on FMCSA’s social media accounts. Through these various methods of outreach, FMCSA will reach drivers and others multiple times, while driving and listening to the radio, when they stop for gas, browsing the internet, and inside a convenience store for a snack, drink, or bathroom break.
While the “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign will be conducted nationwide, it will especially be focused on states with the highest number of human trafficking cases or a high volume of driver traffic. These include California, Florida, Michigan, New York, and North Carolina among others.
Campaign Inspiration
The “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign was designed to complement and build on other federal efforts against human trafficking, including the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Put the Brakes on Human Trafficking” and the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign.
To distinguish “Your Roads, Their Freedom” from other human trafficking awareness initiatives and ensure it would resonate with drivers and others in the transportation industry, FMCSA conducted research, including looking into barriers to reporting human trafficking and motivators to overcome a reluctance to report the crime.
Further, FMCSA consulted with human trafficking survivors. In fact, human trafficking survivors reviewed various campaign materials and content. FMCSA ensured their input was integrated throughout campaign products. One of the survivors noted, “‘Your Roads, Their Freedom’ was overall well received and eye catching.”
About Human Trafficking
Globally, an estimated 28 million people are subjected to human trafficking, and the crime occurs in every state of the U.S.
The crime of human trafficking can be difficult to detect. While hard for many to believe, human trafficking happens everywhere, from small towns to big metropolises. Victims are from all walks of life, ages, genders, and nationalities. They are often lured with false promises of a better life or job opportunities, and then forced into labor or sexual exploitation against their will. It is a cruel and devastating crime that affects millions of people around the world.
For more information on the “Your Roads, Their Freedom” campaign, along with shareable resources, visit https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/stophumantrafficking.
