The Link Between Super Bowl and Trafficking Reality or Urban Legend
Recently, The LA Times ran an article titled, “The Dangerously Fake Link Between the Super Bowl & Human Trafficking” comparing it to myths about pedophiles that “snatch trick-or-treaters from their porches” as well as other polarizing and politically charged conspiracies such as the QAnon perpetuated talk of “political and Hollywood elites snatching children to extract a youth-giving substance from their blood.
Dear LA Times, you can do better than this.
I will tell you what is dangerous… Turning a blind eye to trafficking happening in our communities- during sporting events or otherwise. As a survivor of pimp-controlled exploitation and the founder of an organization (Treasures) that has provided services to other survivors for almost 20 years, this is personal to me.
Provided as “data” supposedly disproving the Super Bowl-trafficking link, the article features statements from law enforcement spokespeople who said that they did not see an increase in prostitution-related arrests during the Super Bowl in 2008 & 2009. A lack of prostitution arrests does NOT prove that prostitution and trafficking are not happening. In 2016, I sat with the Mayor of a city in the Philippines who vehemently exclaimed that trafficking was not happening in his community. Despite the fact that I had spent the evening before in his city’s red-light district, where I encountered 10-year old children, offering a chilling contradiction to his statement. Just because arrests aren’t happening, doesn’t mean trafficking isn’t happening.
One of the spokespeople cited by the LA Times went on to say, "Certain precincts were going gangbusters looking for prostitutes, but they were picking up your everyday street prostitutes, and not foreign women ‘imported’ for the event.” This statement alone perpetuates an age-old trafficking myth that victims are primarily foreign women, kidnapped and brought here to serve as sex slaves. Does this happen? Yes. However, according to the Department of Justice, 83% of sex trafficking victims in the U.S. are U.S. citizens.
Another widely circulated article in the Atlantic, alleged that the outcry over trafficking during the Super Bowl is good for politicians’ agendas to bolster their approval ratings. In preparation for the Super Bowl in LA, we have joined forces with 12 LA-based organizations* in order to provide outreach and emergency services throughout the week. There are no politicians benefiting from or supporting our efforts. In fact, we are completely self-funded. We have decided to allocate our precious resources of time and funding, not because of some urban legend, but because we know that there are real people in our city needing real help.
This is bigger than the Super Bowl. Any time an event draws in tourism, especially male tourism[1], there is an increase in demand for commercial sexual services. And when there are not enough people willing to meet that demand, demand will be met by any means necessary. Pimps and traffickers step in to fill that vacuum. Many pimps and traffickers strategically move their victims from city to city, based on where they presume they will be able to make the most money. Large conventions and major sporting events are two of these draws.
In 2014, I sat with women in brothels in Brazil during the World Cup and heard story after story of those who came to Rio for the big event. Some had never worked in prostitution. Others had. Some were trafficked. Others were driven by poverty. They had one thing in common: they were there to meet the increase in demand during the World Cup.
A fellow survivor-leader and Founder of Cherished, Kate Wedell recalls of her experiences related to major sporting events:
"The flashbacks are a constant reminder the nightmare was real. More times than I can count was I forced to ‘work’ a few days around a sporting event. Hired to escort and attend many pro games with someone that needed me to stroke his fragile ego. Even locked in the hotel."
Members of our collaborative are already doing outreach in the areas surrounding the Sofi Stadium here in Los Angeles. Tera Hilliard, Executive Director of Forgotten Children told us that her team is seeing droves of sex buyers lined up in high-end cars on Figueroa, a notorious track in LA. They are also seeing three times the girls out on the streets, many from out-of-state. Local efforts have already recovered 13 children.
13 children.
Rather than listening to people who have never been involved in the anti-trafficking movement spout rhetoric and wild accusations attempting to disprove the link between tourism and trafficking, why don’t we listen to the voices of those who are in the trenches, putting in the workday in and day out? When the Super Bowl is over, and journalists have moved on to the next hot topic, we will all still be here in this fight.
Better yet, why don’t we listen to the voices of survivors… the lived-experience experts who can tell you real stories of their real lives that have been impacted by real traffickers and real sex buyers.
*A huge shout out to these incredible organizations: Forgotten Children, Cherished, Journey Out, Saving Innocence, Qualified, Zoe, Restoration Diversion, Casa De Familia, Northeast of the Well, After Hours, NCOSE, YWCAGLA, Lantern Bearers and of course, Treasures
[1] [1] 99% of sex buyers are men according to Dr. Melissa Farley http://prostitutionresearch.com and CATW http://www.catwinternational.org