Today is the first day of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) five-day Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative in Canada. This annual awareness and outreach effort aims 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, Canadian law enforcement jurisdictions will track human trafficking awareness and outreach activities and submit that data to the Alliance. CVSA will gather the information and report the results this summer.
In addition, in the months leading up to the awareness campaign, CVSA educated its membership and the general public on human trafficking awareness and prevention through webinars, radio appearances and online resources. The Alliance also worked with Truckers Against Trafficking to distribute wallet cards and window decals, which are still available upon request.
CVSA selected Feb. 20-24 as the dates for this initiative to coincide with Canada’s National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is Feb. 22.
The government of Canada defines human trafficking as recruitment, transportation, harboring and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labor.
“CVSA’s law enforcement and motor carrier communities are committed to bringing attention to human trafficking,” said CVSA President Maj. Chris Nordloh with the Texas Department of Public Safety. “Working together, we will put an end to this crime.”
If you suspect someone is in a human trafficking situation or you are the victim of human trafficking, call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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 province 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, Mexico and the U.S. are also participating in CVSA’s 2023 Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative. In Mexico, the initiative is scheduled for March 13-17. In the U.S., the initiative took place last month, Jan. 9-13.
The Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative is part of CVSA’s Human Trafficking Prevention Program. The program seeks to reduce human trafficking across North America through coordinated enforcement, investigative measures and educational awareness resources within the commercial motor vehicle industry.
View last year’s Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative results.