Each year during Super Bowl season, local authorities and federal law enforcement team up to take down human trafficking rings and rescue the victims of sex trafficking.
Each year during Super Bowl season, local authorities and federal law enforcement such as the FBI and Homeland Security team up to take down human trafficking rings and rescue the victims of sex trafficking. Why is their timing so specific to the Super Bowl?
"Events that draw big audiences and large numbers of out-of-towners create environments ripe for human traffickers. Many believe, although it has never been officially documented, that the Super Bowl is the largest sex-trafficking event in the world." - ESPN
Consider, for a moment, the full scope of this crisis our law enforcement is combating when it comes to sports events and sex trafficking operations.
Reuters reported that just two years ago during Superbowl weekend:
750 suspects were arrested for sex trafficking in stings related to the timing of the Super Bowl
723 of those arrested were the men buying sex from the victims being pimped out. The rest were the pimps.
6 victims were children. 86 victims were adults.
This year, Super Bowl is happening in Atlanta, Georgia, infamously known for its high crime rate of human sex trafficking.
Knowing this, Local advocacy groups like S.O.A.P (Save our Adolescents from Prostitution) are already out in the city, bringing awareness to the thousands of incoming football fans about the young girls who are considered missing and likely victims of trafficking.
Photos are being handed out, flyers are all around Atlanta. Hotels and motels are being given bars of soap with information about what indicators to look for when identifying a victim.
Because of these local efforts occurring a week before the largest sporting event in the USA takes place, young girls are already starting to be rescued from abuse.
Sadly, it's becoming harder for law enforcement to take down large groups of criminals during the Superbowl.
It's becoming public knowledge that police and the FBI are actively looking for the prostitution victims weeks and months in advance of Super Bowl Sunday.
Because of this, sex trafficking victims, the men who buy them for sex, and the pimps selling the abused men and women for sex are becoming better at evading the law. Reported numbers of those arrested and rescued have been going down.
We can't just rely on other people to recognize and rescue victims. Sports fans, as well as everyone else, need to keep our eyes peeled and ears open to help increase those numbers again.
During our Football festivities this weekend, no matter what team you are rooting for, be a good sport and keep a lookout for these indicators that someone you see may be a victim of trafficking:
