Understanding the Role of Transportation in Combating Human Trafficking
Kezban Yagci Sokat, PhD; Evelyn A. Gonzalez, BS & Kelly Amend, BA | September 22 | 3:15-4:15 pm
Topic: Research | Knowledge Level: Advanced
While it is not compulsory to involve transportation for human trafficking, the transportation industry plays a critical role in combating human trafficking as traffickers often rely on the transportation system to recruit, move, or transfer victims of human trafficking for either sex or forced labor. Recognizing the importance of transportation, multiple anti-trafficking stakeholders in California have started initiatives to address the problem. Supported by the United States Department of Transportation, this project investigates the role of transportation in combatting human trafficking in California by conducting a survey followed up with semi-structured in-depth interviews with key stakeholders. The project aims to understand the role of transportation in combating human trafficking in different stages of human trafficking and assess the knowledge about current policies, trainings, public awareness initiatives, and partnerships about transportation and supply chain management among anti-trafficking practitioners. This presentation will share the learnings from experts through the survey conducted via Qualtrics (72 participants) and semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom (25 participants) and share examples and novel insights from the field based on various cases. 74% of the participants state that transportation is used in trafficking operations to transport and control the victims. While the type of vehicle changes based on the type of trafficking, industry, geography, and distance, private cars and ridesharing are the most commonly used vehicles for human trafficking. 64% of the participants state that they do not collect data pertaining to transportation in human trafficking. The presenters will highlight gaps and opportunities for utilizing transportation, best practices, data collection, information-sharing, and collaboration.
Presentation Objectives:
· Discuss the role of transportation in different stages of human trafficking
· Introduce examples from cases
· Describe best practices for utilizing transportation in anti-trafficking efforts