The Minnesota Trucking Association has joined the fight to stop human trafficking by partnering with Truckers Against Trafficking. The MTA board of directors voted unanimously at its March meeting to support this effort.
“Because MTA members travel areas where human trafficking occurs, they are in a unique position to combat the problem” says Joyce Brenny, chairwoman of the association. “Our partnership with Truckers Against Trafficking will help heighten awareness of illegal activities that may be taking place at rest areas across the state.”
In a series of FBI stings between 2003-2009, truckstops were one of the locations across America where more than 500 children were rescued, millions of dollars recovered and perpetrators arrested.
The Department of Justice estimates there are between 100,000-300,000 American children at-risk every year to traffickers and that countless American children, teens and young women are sold into the sex trade. Human trafficking is a $32 billion-a-year industry, the second-most lucrative crime in the world.
TAT began in March 2009 as an initiative of Chapter 61 Ministries to educate, equip, empower and mobilize members of the trucking industry of the critical role they can play in fighting human trafficking.
