Fleet of 29 wrapped trucks and trailers now raising human trafficking awareness
The trucking industry continues to combat human trafficking, deploying its 29th wrap to raise awareness of the epidemic.
This one, sponsored by Victim Services of Durham Region, was installed on a Speedy Transport straight truck that makes deliveries throughout the region. The eye-catching wrap, designed by Big Rig Wraps, is packed with useful information including hand signals that can be used to plead for help, and the website address for www.KnowHumanTrafficking.com.
The truck was publicly unveiled for the first time April 2 at Whitby’s Town Hall. Elected officials, law enforcement, and other members of the community gathered to celebrate the deployment of the specially wrapped truck.
Among those in attendance was Karly Church, human trafficking crisis intervention counselor with Victim Services of Durham Region. She, herself, was a victim of human trafficking and spoke to the importance of the messaging.
“Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada, and Ontario is a hub with over two-thirds of recorded trafficking cases occurring right here in our province,” she said. Despite this stat, human trafficking continues to be an underreported crime, due to the misunderstanding of what it truly looks like.”
Church said while being trafficked, she didn’t realize she was a trafficking victim. She didn’t know where to turn for help.
“And this is the case for too many. For far too long, the topic of human trafficking has been suppressed,” Church said. “Today, this changes. Today is the beginning of conversations that will lead to education on the topic, and in turn, the beginning of lives forever changed.”
Whitby mayor Elizabeth Roy was also able to speak to the topic personally. She said she has a niece who was human trafficked for two years. “So, this really hits close to home for me,” she said. “We know human trafficking is happening right here in Durham Region, as well as across Canada. We also know that misconceptions persist about what human trafficking is – it’s a crime that is often hiding in plain sight.”
The Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada has led the campaign to raise awareness about the issue, rolling out a steady stream of truck and trailer wraps since 2019.
Board member Fiona Stone said “We have 29 on the road. Now we have them in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta and New Brunswick, and soon Saskatchewan will have one as well.”
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The sentiment is noble but I hope that you will understand that the trucking industry has latched onto trafficking as their checkmark women’s issue so they don’t have to talk about sexual assault in truck driver training fleets and deal with it.
Here is some background. I am the person who helped Kylla Lanier a founder of Truckers Against Trafficking get the organization started in social media over a decade ago when most of the trucking industry wasn’t really embracing being part of their educational initiatives.
Since then there has been a significant shift in awareness and many truck stops are no longer run by pimps, though some locations still have issues.
Trafficking includes labor trafficking not just sex trafficking. If you grab a labor trafficking fact sheet you will see that the red flags of labor trafficking are many of the same labor issues affecting truck drivers right now that few are trying to tackle.
Trafficking is an important issue but as a rape survivor it is highly offensive to see that sexual assault specifically in the trucking workplace which is well documented is ignored in lieu of trafficking since it’s an easier corporate crowd pleaser.
The trucking industry would do well to address gender based violence and harassment in the trucking workplace during April which is sexual assault awareness month and show they actually care about something more than a PR stunt.