Taxis against trafficking

Two times I spent time trying stop young girls being exploited and both times I came up against a stone wall.
One girl was punched and knocked out then thrown into the boot of a car. The Garda wouldn't even take the reg of the car.
He told me that they would need a missing persons report before they could act.
www.stopthetraffik.org

TAXIS AGAINST TRAFFICKING

Posted by Stop the Traffik on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 08:53:11 +0000

What do you usually talk to taxi drivers about? The weather? Plans for the weekend? The football results? One of our activists happened to mention to her taxi driver that she’d just been to an ACT meeting….

 “One day I got talking to my taxi driver, and after I mentioned human trafficking he revealed that he suspected one of his passengers might have been a trafficking victim. 
I went back to my community group and everyone agreed there was great potential to raise awareness with taxi drivers. We designed a sticker that drivers could put in their taxis with information about trafficking, and a helpline to call.”
Brenda, ACT Liverpool
Had you ever pondered the link between taxis and trafficking? It’s been widely reported that traffickers use taxis to transport their victims. Taxi drivers might well be the only people to come into contact with a trafficked person and therefore they could play a key role in identifying and reporting suspicious activity. Unfortunately, taxi drivers may not know which signs might indicate that someone is a victim and what to do if they spot them.
The 18^th October is Anti-Slavery Day. We want to use this global day of action as an opportunity to make a difference. We want taxi drivers in villages, towns and cities around the world to be made aware of the issues surrounding human trafficking and how they can help.
This is where you come in. Not only do taxi drivers have a wealth of community information, they also enjoy a well-deserved tea break. And so we’d like you to give our taxi drivers a little treat.
GIVE YOUR TAXI DRIVER A TEA BREAK
Here’s how it’ll work:
1)                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Head down to your local taxi rank and take with you some light refreshments
2)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Whilst taxi drivers are waiting for passengers, offer them a cup of tea and ask them if they would mind taking part in our questionnaire
3)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Once you’ve spoken to your taxi drivers, ask if they’d be happy to put our sticker up in their taxi (the sticker has number they can call if they’re concerned about something they see)
So who knew?… By taking your local cabbies a cuppa and a biscuit you could be saving lives.
You can buy our stickers from our online shop. Here are some fundraising ideas to use with your school, colleagues, faith group or friends - Fundraising ideas You could even ask your local media to support the campaign.
We’ve currently got stickers for taxis in the UK and India, but if you’d like us to translate or contextualise stickers for your country please let us know! Email us at info@stopthetraffik.org