Human trafficking fight gets big boost from America's truckers – Fox News
Veteran trucker Bob Bramwell recalls his initial thoughts after being trained through a program provided by his company to spot the warning signs of human trafficking while on the road.
“When I was receiving the training for the first time, being a regional driver, right in small town America, I thought, this is something I'll never run across,” he told Fox News.
However, the Missouri native did experience an instance of human trafficking and used the training to spot and save a young woman he found all alone on a desolate rural road just 50 miles from his home while in the car with his family.
“I pull up to a crossroad and a young lady was standing right there, and it was dark, cold, just the way she was dressed. I rolled the window down when I asked her if she was all right,” Bramwell recalled.
“Immediately the tone in her voice, even though she said okay, I knew things were not okay.”
Bramwell said that he felt the woman was apprehensive in speaking with him, and that he turned on the dome light of his car so she could see that he was with his family. He eventually assured her that night that she could safely get her to come inside the car to safety.
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“She had no idea where she was,” he said. “Once we figured it out to the level of what we're dealing with, obviously we got her to [a] safe haven.”
The trucker said he could see the effects that trafficking had on the young woman.
“I had a private conversation away from my children with her. She told me how she had been held hostage for over a month, drugged and raped, and her child was being held at another location that she didn't know.”
He continued, “It was very apparent then that it was time to call local authorities and get them involved. And, you know, when that was mentioned, she obviously didn't want to do that because she felt so bound by her captors that if she didn't go back, what would happen to her daughter?”
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It was Bramwell's employer, ABF Freight System, that set up the training for his colleagues and him. It has been proved throughout the trucking, bus and energy industries for the past decade by Truckers Against Trafficking, a nonprofit group focusing on combating human trafficking within the U.S. To date, the group has trained over 1.5 million industry professionals and has worked in conjunction with national trucking organizations including the American Trucking Association.
This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.
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PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.
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This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.
ABOUT PBJ LEARNING
PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.
More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.