New York is preparing for the droves of people who will make their way to MetLife Stadium for Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, but city and federal officials are focusing on more than just football fans attending the event.
These officials are preparing for what has become the largest annual human-trafficking event in the United States, working with transportation providers to identify and rescue victims of the sinister enterprise.
Using this coordinated effort, the feds hope to liberate many of the tens of thousands of women and girls who are expected to be delivered to the Big Apple and exploited for sex or forced labor.
In the halls of Congress, Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) shed light on the disturbing annual practice, hoping to spark a debate that could find solutions aimed at mitigating the practice in the future.
“In less than a week, New Jersey will be hosting the Super Bowl, and along with welcoming enthusiastic fans, the state also is preparing for a likely influx of both domestic and international traffickers,” said Smith, co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Human Trafficking
“We know from the past, any sports venue — especially the Super Bowl — acts as a sex-trafficking magnet.”
In his statement before the legislative body, Smith recalled statistics compiled by the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children that claim approximately 10,000 women were involved in sex-trafficking during the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami.
A year before the championship in Miami, Manual A. Walcott received a 20-year prison sentence when he was implicated in an undercover police sting operation targeting traffickers at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida. Walcott was detained by authorities when he offered two girls – a 14-year-old and an 18-year-old – to investigators for a “Super Bowl Special” price of $300.
The Super Bowl and other major sporting events present lucrative opportunities for those involved in the illegal trade, offering a sudden influx of individuals who travel for the event and are inclined to seek additional entertainment preceding and following the main event.
The women and children who are exploited by the practice are comprised of both American and foreign citizens, who are often forced to engage in prostitution or to work without pay.
Sex-trafficking has evolved into a lucrative business in the US and around the globe. The industry grosses $9.5 billion annually in the US, and an additional $32 billion worldwide. Trafficked women are constantly moved throughout the country so as to avoid drawing the attention of law enforcement officials.
Sadly, many of the women enslaved by the practice are children. Estimates project that there are between 100,000 and 150,000 underage sex workers currently active in the US. On the whole, these women do not enter into the profession willfully, but are lured and kidnapped by pimps and massive sex rings who enslave them in the practice.
Shared Hope International reports that underage sex workers average 6,000 clients over the course of five years, and are typically instructed to serve between 10 and 15 clients per night. However, reports confirm that girls have served as many as 45 clients in a day during peak demand times, which includes major sports events.
In an effort to raise public awareness around the issue, the Department of Homeland Security has engaged other federal agencies, foreign governments and police officials to alert the public to be on the lookout for suspected traffickers and their victims.
At the center of this effort is a campaign to educate transportation workers on how to identify victims of the practice.
“We teach flight attendants to be alert for indicators, but never to try and rescue a victim or display unusual concern or alarm,” said Nancy Rivard, president and founder of Airline Ambassadors International.
“If they are uncomfortable with a situation, they are to report it to the cockpit with seat numbers of passengers involved. Pilots are to call Station Operation Command at the arrival airport, who are to call the DHS Tip Line to alert law enforcement for proper assessment.”
Officials stress that public assistance is required to most effectively control the situation. They have requested that anyone who notices suspicious activity should call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888.
via USA Today, Top Photo Credit: Shutterstock
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