AUSTIN – First Lady Cecilia Abbott on Jan 20th, joined the Governor's Commission for Women, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Texas Department of Public Safety at a human trafficking awareness training at the Texas Capitol in Austin to educate the public, support survivors, and shed light on the injustices many face. First Lady Abbott outlined the state's anti-human trafficking efforts and reminded Texans of their important role in helping eradicate this heinous crime. 

“It is crucial that the State of Texas collaborates to raise awareness, increase our vigilance, and report signs of this horrendous crime,” said First Lady Abbott. “These victims are not invisible when we learn to look for the signs of suspected abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. Working together, we can all help to end this injustice.”

"TxDOT plays a critical role in this fight, as traffickers utilize our infrastructure to commit this crime," said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. “We have been proactive in training our employees to spot signs of human trafficking in rural, suburban, and urban communities across the state. It's important that we all work together to look for the signs because it can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time."

In 2019, the Governor's Commission for Women and TxDOT announced the "On the Road to End Human Trafficking" campaign to raise awareness, increase vigilance, and report signs of human and labor trafficking. Texans can report suspicious activity to the DPS through the iWatchTexas community reporting system.