Welcome to Driving Freedom, a TAT Podcast! As TAT works to educate, equip, empower and mobilize members of the truck, bus and energy industries to combat human trafficking as part of their regular jobs, we wanted to create a podcast that would serve as a helpful training tool to one of the largest mobile armies of eyes and ears out there on the roads seeking to recognize and report this heinous crime. Each short episode is designed to refresh critical issues learned and keep this life-saving information top of mind.

Are you looking for tips on how you can help stop trafficking? Welcome to our first episode of the Driving Freedom Podcast! On this episode, Annika Huff, Truckers Against Trafficking's training specialist,  shares her story as a sex trafficking survivor. Annika shares what vulnerabilities in her life led to her trafficking, some of the manipulation techniques her traffickers used to keep her stuck in the life and what interactions made a difference in her escape from the life. Truck drivers and community members will learn the importance of taking a victim-centered approach once they recognize the signs of human trafficking and how to report it, so they can prevent human trafficking.

Resources: 

www.truckersagainsttrafficking.org
TAT training video and additional resources

Why does trafficking exist? Our guest, Alan Smyth, executive director of Saving Innocence, a Los Angeles-based non-profit that serves, empowers, and advocates for child victims of sex trafficking, dives into the cultural expectations that foster trafficking and addresses the action steps we can each take to be a part of reducing demand. Alan shares his experiences as a dad raising a son, wrestling with how to express and talk about masculinity. He shares how those types of conversations impact human trafficking. Ultimately, truck drivers, bus drivers, energy employees and community members can address this at three levels -- in ourselves, conversations between family and friends, as well as education at a broader level, including corporate policies. Alan asks, “How can men become a big part of ending trafficking? Live a life that honors, serves and protects women and call other men into that.” 

Resources: 

Saving Innocence
Man to Man by Truckers Against Trafficking

Is trafficking something I would really come across and be able to stop? Christine McDonald, an internationally recognized author, speaker and consultant, invites us to go behind the veil of commercial sex to see what that “choice,” that “life” was really like. She’ll explain why and how victims, like herself, often don’t know they’re trafficking victims. She didn’t know until two years after she got out, when she saw her man arrested on TV. Christine explains how the amount of humanity she experienced in the world of commercial sexual exploitation was such a microscopic spec that there was hardly any hope to hold onto. The way Christine shares her story not only gives us insights into the truth behind the facade of “choosing” prostitution, but depicts what it would look like for truck drivers and travel plaza or truck stop employees to make a powerful difference in the lives of victims in the short and long term. Christine’s familiarity with the complex vulnerabilities leading to and coming out of trafficking strengthens our understanding of the ways we can work towards stopping sex trafficking.

Resources:

Relentless Pursuit  

Schedule an event with Christine and find her books: Christinesvision.org 

Christine’s Youtube

Why are truck drivers strategic in the fight against sex trafficking? TAT has trained nearly 1 million people with our materials, but why did we decide to start working with drivers? In this episode, TAT Communications Director and co-founder Lyn Leeburg answers the oft-asked question of “why truckers?” and shares about the genesis of the idea for TAT. We hear about what it was like in the early days (How were the first wallet cards produced? What, if any, connections to the trucking industry did Lyn have?) and get Lyn’s take on the tremendous growth of the organization over the last 10+ years. We also hear about why Shari’s story* is one of Lyn’s most favorite examples of this work in action. Listen in to get a peek behind the curtain of the founding and start-up of TAT and how one simple idea has had such a tremendous ripple effect in helping to save and change countless lives. Learn how you could do the same.

Resources:
Shari’s story is featured in our complete training video. 

Why do so many conspiracy theories involve child sex trafficking? These days, a lot of inaccurate information is circulating about human trafficking. In recent months and years, some of these myths have been baked into conspiracy theories that have spread like wildfires on social media, harming the anti-trafficking movement and potentially putting victims at greater risk. In this episode, TAT’s Busing on the Lookout program team, Annie Sovcik and Lexi Higgins, discuss the dangers with these conspiracy theories, debunk some common human trafficking myths and share helpful tips on how we can all be better consumers of information and more savvy in our use of social media.

Resources:

Polaris: “How Unproven Trafficking Stories Spread Online and Why Stopping Them Matters”
Common Sense Media: “What is media literacy, and why is it important?”

Keeping kids safe online has been an important and growing area of concern for many parents. However, with more kids learning virtually and the increase in screen time available to many children and teens, knowing how to keep kids safe online has never been more vital. Those who seek to exploit others have a playground in the form of technology, offering a direct link to vulnerable youth. Today’s guest, Sydney Zuiker, dedicates her life to helping kids and parents learn the tools they need to prevent exploitation online. She shares relevant principles that parents and/or caregivers should keep in mind as they learn to communicate and build trust around online behavior and habits. 

Resources: 

Outside monitoring tool:
●      https://www.bark.us

Other tips and tools:
●       https://crime-stoppers.org/cyber-safety/
●      https://www.protectyoungminds.org
●      https://endsexualexploitation.org/download/10-conversation-starters/

What is familial trafficking, and what can we do about it? According to The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative, almost half of the identified cases of child trafficking begin with some family member involvement. These children often continue going to school and participating in everyday activities, even while being exploited by this trusted person at home. TAT Training Specialist Liz Williamson shares her expertise as a survivor of familial trafficking. She explains how familial trafficking happens and what it looks like, including examples from her own experience. She also shares the stories of two bus drivers that made an impression on her during her youth by simply showing kindness, and how one small action can truly impact someone’s life. 

Resources:

https://truckersagainsttrafficking.org/bus-training/
https://iempathize.org/eyp/
https://www.unitas.ngo/resource/
https://www.ecpatusa.org/onlinesafetytips
https://parentingsafechildren.com/
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/privacy-and-internet-safety