Sex Investors.

Want to end sex trafficking? Stop investing in this multi-billion-dollar illegal industry. It’s simple. No buyer means no victim which means no sex trafficking. Yes, it’s simple, but it’s not easy. Most sex buyers are men, yet only six percent of men purchase sex. That means that there is an opportunity for the other 94 percents of us men who do not buy sex to speak up.

sychology.  He has spoken to groups all over North America on the subject of human trafficking.On this podcast, we focus not so much on identifying victims and traffickers, but the men who provide the money to keep sex-trafficking a growing ilIn this TNT TruckNewsTalk Podcast I chat with Dylan Wecht, TAT Public Sector Engagement Specialist, and Field Trainer. Dylan is well qualified to speak about human trafficking. Not only is he a lawyer but holds a degree in criminal justice and plegal industry.

No Buyer = No Victim = No Sex Trafficking.

For more information on the buyers: https://tatnonprofit.org/addressing-demand/

SEVEN BRAVE WOMEN IN A MAN’S WORLD

There appears to be a symbiotic relationship between adventuruous women looking for a challenging career and an industry that needs them…and for reasons that I won’t go into here, they can’t seem to connect.

Women make up about 50% of our population yet in the US, only 9% are professional drivers and in Canada, that percentage is even lower at about 4%. 

When you consider that there is an alleged pro driver shortage, doesn’t it make you wonder, why isn’t there are a huge recruiting strategy to attract women?  They’re not just going to walk into the H&R department and say, “I wanna be a trucker.” So, because trucking fleets are probably not going to place ads in Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Elle magazines or Thrive Magazine, maybe hearing directly from seven happy, successful women who are professional truck drivers. They are all smart, educated and articulate.

They are from the US and Canada. They are Carol Nixon, Caroline Carter, Susie DeRidder, Claudia Winterhalter,  Sherry Mukelston, Kellylynn McLaughlin and Stephanie Klang

Who’s old enough to remember this hit song from 1966 by the Bobby Fuller Four, “I Fought the Law and the Law Won”  The law usually wins…but they need all the help they can get, especially when it comes to human trafficking, otherwise known as sex-trafficking.  We know a guy who can help. He is a Public Sector Engagement Specialist at TAT…TAT an acronym for Truckers Against Trafficking. His name is Dylan Wecht and although Mr. Wecht has a long title that may not at first describe what he does. Dylan assists and educates law enforcement; he is eminently qualified. He is an attorney based in Washington DC and holds a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology.

Dylan Wecht speaks throughout the United States and Canada about TAT’s mission and trains law enforcement on human trafficking, the victim centered approach, and how to identify human trafficking at routine interdiction and inspection stops. He holds a Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University School of Law and previously worked as an immigration attorney in the Washington, DC area. The fact that Dylan is former immigration attorney allows him to have a front row seat into the area of cross border sex trafficking and domestic servitude. 

That’s Dylan Wecht Public Sector Engagement Specialist at TAT. If you would like to have Dylan speak to your organization, get in touch directly with him. His email address is [email protected]. or just email TAT at  [email protected]

Just recently, Dylan spoke at a TAT coalition build in Dartmouth, Nova Scota a few weeks ago on September 11th, an event attended and co-hosted by the Atlantic Trucking Association and CN as well as local law enforcement. That half day event agenda included Human Trafficking prevention and awareness training, training resources for the trucking, truckstop, bus and energy industries, a survivor presentation, a law enforcement panel and Q& A discussion.

We’ve been talking to Jane Jazrawy about the Best Fleets to Drive for competition for several years but this time I have some probing questions. Questions like, who benefits? Just how many questions do you ask? Who cheats?  What if you’re a driver and you hate your company? What about women drivers? Where do they fit in?

If the trucking industry is going to attract drivers…and not just any driver, but great professional drivers…you have to demonstrate how professional you are as company.  Well, there is a way to do that…all least within the industry.  It’s an in-depth survey called, “Best Fleets to Drive For”.  However, the drivers are the judges.

 I will talk to Jane Jazrawy about how it’s all done…and although I’ve talked Jane before, this time, I chose to ask some tough questions.  If the “outside world” only knew how serious most trucking companies were about their professionalism and how drivers cared to work for the best companies…it might change John Q. Public’s view. Please listen as I talk to Jane Jazrawy about the “Best Fleets to Dive For” competition. We may discover some surprises.

Another Brave Lady Named Liz

This week I talk to a woman who has demonstrated courage over and over again so that we will be aware of the threats against our families…especially our daughters, grand-daughters and female friends.

Bravery comes in several forms. There are actually three types of bravery. Physical Bravery. I know and admire one such lady. Then there is moral bravery, I know another lady who fits that category and then there is psychological bravery…facing painful aspects of oneself. I personally know a lady who fits that category. Despite being through physical, and massive traumatic psychological pain, she courageously stands up to talk about her decade-long trauma, so that her painful journey may elp others.  Tough men weep when they hear her story. Her name is Liz Gray. She is a Training Specialist/Leader with Truckers Against Trafficking. Liz is a survivor of sex trafficking. More on that later.

For those who are not familiar with Truckers Against Trafficking, the organization was established in 2009 with a simple yet powerful belief: that every truck driver can be a crucial ally in the fight against human trafficking. Since then, TAT has grown to encompass a greater portion of the transportation industry, in the US and Canada, forming deep alliances to maximize collective effort through programs that include innovative training, partnerships with law enforcement and advocacy efforts. TAT has raised awareness about trafficking, who it targets and its signs, and trained individuals to act whenever their lives intersect with it and its victims.

So far almost 2 million drivers in the US and Canada have been trained on how to recognize and report human trafficking.  For example, UPS Canada brought its partnership with Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) to its international hub in Calgary to train and prepare drivers to assist victims and fight back against human trafficking in Alberta.  By the way, I prefer to call it, for the purpose of this focused topic, sex trafficking.

We have spoken to Liz previously, but for this episode of TNT, she will update on the state of trafficking today, as well as Truckers Against Trafficking success stories…and what’s coming up.

It was a long time ago but I still remember when I was in science class in school when my science teacher created hydrogen by using electrolysis. Of course the other element was oxygen, but I was amazed at how hydrogen easily exploded…as proven by the infamous Hindenburg explosion in 1937.  But back then, it was obvious that hydrogen could become a fuel for the future, but there was one problem….or two problems. One…how to create it. My science teacher’s little lab wouldn’t cut it. The other, it’s explosive and difficult to transport.  Yet, hydrogen is becoming more popular as a fuel for cars and trucks, even though there are questions and debates on how to create it….or mine it.  Electrolysis on a grand scale is not an option. The energy needed to create it is greater than the energy that hydrogen provides. Yet hydrogen as a fuel is growing and especially in the transportation industry.  With the high cost of creating it, how is it going to work? Are there more advantages than drawbacks?  Some of you may remember, way back about 8 years ago, I interviewed the former and eventually disgraced CEO at the Nikola Motor Company, Trevor Milton and his grand plans for a hydrogen fleet. His vision didn’t quite work out as expected but Nikola is still around and in fact Wal-Mart Canada has added a Nikola Hydrogen Fuel Cell EV semi-truck to it’s fleet.  Meanwhile, ITD Industries has just opened Ontario’s first commercial fueling station for hydrogen heavy trucks.  This is all positive but I wanted to talk to a guy who had a hands on experience with hydrogen and trucks. It’s our old friend at Truck News Magazine, Editor, James Menzies. Boy, do I have questions!

Kimberly Ran For the Veterans and Won

At a time when we feel like the world is going mad and we don’t know what to believe or who to trust, there are still stories of amazing special altruistic people who risk their health, their own security and indeed sometimes their lives to help others with no desire for fame. The first people who come to mind are our members of the military and first responders. And then there are people in our own communities who work tirelessly to help the less fortunate, whether it’s helping out at a homeless shelter or visiting retirement homes to bring some cheer to the aged and lonely. Their altruism and compassion is without any expectation or desire or fame. One of those is a young lady who risked her health by choosing to run 180 kilometers…that’s 111 miles through a chilly downpour… non-stop. Her name is Kimberly Biback. She had heard of Captain Andrew Gough’s non-profit organization, “Veterans and Everyday Heroes”. Kimberly embraced Andrew’s organization, which performs acts of kindness for veterans and first responders in need of support to achieve or maintain mental and physical wellness.  Too often there are times when these everyday heroes could use some extra kindness in their day, particularly in the face of a diagnosis of an Operational/Occupational Stress injury (OSI) or PTSD.  We view Andrew and his team, and Kimberly as heroes helping heroes.

Kimberley followed through with her unbelievable promise to run 180 kilometers. She started out at 2:30 am on Wednesday July 10 and her long grueling painful non-stop run (except for bathroom breaks and food) arrived at Canadian Air Force Base in Trenton, Ontario on Thursday evening. Her feet were bleeding and she lost 5 pounds, and…she smiled all the way. Listen to her brave journey.

While dozens, if not hundreds of organizations focus on identifying and reporting potential victims, very few identify the root cause of sex-trafficking, namely, the Johns. The customers.

So, who are the men who build sex-trafficking into such a lucrative business? In fact, it’s even more profitable than the drug trade. When a drug dealer sells a gram of coke, it’s consumed. It’s gone. He has to buy another supply.  When a pimp sells his girl to a john, he sells her over and over and over again.

If we could just identify the johns and arrest and/or rehabilitate them, the sex-trafficking crime would end. Who are these people? What kind of man buys another human being for his pleasure? What kind of man pays to have sex with a child? What kind man pays to beat a defenseless woman?

In this podcast, I have a verbally graphic conversation about johns with a woman who knew them intimately for fifteen years. Her name is Katarina MacLeod. Her descriptions and story are hellish, and in the end, positive and uplifting, especially for women who have escaped, “the game” as she calls it.

A word of warning. You may find some of Kat’s descriptions, at least, uncomfortable.

But please listen. If you can help or NEED help, go to www.risingangels.net 

Human trafficking AKA sex-trafficking is still a growing crime, in spite of the hundreds of trafficking awareness organizations throughout Canada and the USA.  I’m not sure we will ever stamp out sex-trafficking,  but we can all work to decrease it with education. Remember, knowledge is power. In my opinion, mainstream media including radio and tv and even social media are not doing to enough to inform young people about the slick perils that out there, in their own neighborhoods and even in the schools.  However, one organization that is working to get the word out, on the road and in our faces, is a group entitled, Know Human Trafficking. KNOWHUMANTRAFFICKING.COM is Ontario based.  

One of the primary methods that they utilize to they get the word out is with huge traveling billboards….in other words, on the sides and back of commercial trailers.  Getting those trailers wrapped would be tough to accomplish without the help of one generous lady, Angela Baltkois. She is a wrapper. No, not like Snoop Dogg. Her company wraps those 18-wheeler trailers with the anti- human traffic awareness messages. Listen as Angela explains who this all works.

We thank Angela for her donations and support in the fight against human trafficking.  We also need to thank the various fleet owners who provide their trailers. as well as Shelly walker, founder of knowhumantrafficking

Ellen Voie is the Founder of Women in Trucking (WIT) that promotes and support women in non-traditional trucking careers. She has worked tirelessly to change the stereotypical image of the truck driver. In 2002, Ellen stepped down as the President & CEO of Women in Trucking but continues to promote the trucking industry as a great place for women to find a rewarding career.  She is also active in working to change legislation on a state and federal level to improve the lives of everyone in the trucking industry. In fact, although the organization is, Women in Trucking, over 17% of the WIT organization is composed of men.

Ellen is a vibrant, active woman with a positive attitude and a sense of humor, evident in the many times we have spoken to her previously. We have talked about trucking issues, but this time, we discovered more about Ellen personally. Listen to what we have discovered.