Join the fight against human trafficking in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY – January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, with the national awareness day on Jan. 11. The month is dedicated to educating the traveling public on human trafficking, what to look for, and what everyone can do to help stop it.

Missouri is a transportation hub for the central United States, with large amounts of freight moving across the state’s highways every day. Common places like rest stops, gas stations, convenience stores and hotels are prime spots for the practice of human trafficking. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were 249 human trafficking cases identified in Missouri in 2023, involving 356 victims. Nationally, these numbers jump to nearly 10,000 cases identified nearly 17,000 victims.

In 2018, MoDOT leadership signed the Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking Source