January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the fight to end this modern-day slavery has a strong partner in the Texas oil and natural gas industry.
Many in our industry united earlier this month to shine a light on the global human trafficking epidemic through the Energy Empowers Freedom tour, which brought an interactive mobile museum across Houston to share the stories of victims and educate oil and gas employees as well as the community on how they can help eradicate these crimes. With stops at the Port of Houston, Marathon Oil, Seadrill, Shell, Weatherford, and Chevron, the tour launched by the Oil & Gas Trafficking Awareness Group (OGTAG) was a significant step by the industry to work together and be part of the solution. See below for news coverage of the Energy Empowers Freedom tour:
Houston Chronicle: Oil and gas industry works to increase awareness of human trafficking
KRIV-FOX Houston: Houston oil executive fights against human trafficking
The 45 Houston-based energy companies that comprise OGTAG have worked collaboratively with local officials, law enforcement, non-profits, and the community to end human trafficking and support victims. For more information on OGTAG and its work, visit https://ogtag.org/.
Collaborations like the one with OGTAG and Truckers Against Trafficking are amplifying the oil and natural gas industry’s efforts to play a meaningful role in ending human trafficking. The two organizations recently released a trailer for their “Empowering Freedom” training video in an effort to mobilize the energy industry to recognize and respond to human trafficking. Learn more about the effort by visiting https://truckersagainsttrafficking.org/.
STEER encourages all its members to learn the signs of human trafficking and report suspicious activity by calling 911 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Signs may include:
- A person has no personal possessions and is constantly being monitored;
- A person is living and working onsite without the ability to leave;
- There is visible verbal or physical abuse by a supervisor; and
- A person is not given proper safety equipment.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline – https://humantraffickinghotline.org/ – includes additional information.