Human Trafficking Month

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the United States, making it an opportune time to explore the role that public transportation can play in combating human trafficking.

Human trafficking is a global crime in which people are bought and sold for forced labor or commercial sex. 

Public transit agencies encounter human trafficking survivors in a variety of ways. The populations most at-risk for trafficking are also those most likely to use public transportation. 

Traffickers may go to bus stops or transit centers to find potential victims or use public transportation to shuttle their victims to and from places where they will be sold. When survivors attempt to exit trafficking, a bus, train or transit center may be the first place they will go to find safety or escape. This means that public transportation can be a key touchpoint for reaching these vulnerable populations, both for prevention and education, as well as for identification and intervention.

Join representatives from APTA, TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking), the Amtrak Police Department, the New Jersey Transit Police Department and the Federal Transit Administration to learn more about how the industry intersects with human trafficking and hear lessons learned, resources that are available and best practices for implementing anti-trafficking initiatives, every day and especially during high profile special events like the Super Bowl and the upcoming FIFA World Cup Games.