Forced labor and Transportation: Multi-disciplinary perspectives

Abstract

Transportation plays a key role in combating human trafficking. This paper discusses data from the 2021 National Outreach Survey for Transportation (NOST), from the first ever United States Department of Transportation Combating Human Trafficking in Transportation Award winning project. Survey data collected from transportation personnel, victim service providers, and trafficking survivors reinforces the documented perceptions, limitations, and challenges in understanding and combating forced labor discussed among frontline workers. Among 173 respondents working in various state DOT construction units, only 26 % feel slightly or very confident (19 % and 7 %, respectively) about identifying labor trafficking in their work environment. Participating transportation workers confirm specific training topics that may help to identify forced labor proximate to the work environment or within the community, transportation-related venues, and events. Respondents from multiple transport modes also provide valuable suggestions on how personnel and industry leaders can help combat human trafficking in supply chains. For the primarily U.S.-based transportation respondents, the most suggested strategy for encouraging companies to use products free from forced labor in their supply chains was high penalties (1,229 respondents), followed by loss of tax benefits (850 respondents) (total n = 1,766).