mythology of human trafficking

Posted on: Sat, 02/01/2014 - 15:58 By: Tom Swiss

"Human trafficking", in the sense of people being abducted and forced to work either in sweatshops or in brothels, does exist. But the idea that large number of women within the U.S. are being enslaved as prostitutes is not accurate, and the picture of the Super Bowl as a hotbed of sex slavery is just wrong:

The Super Bowl of Sex Trafficking?

No data actually support the notion that increased sex trafficking accompanies the Super Bowl. The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, a network of nongovernmental organizations, published a report in 2011 examining the record on sex trafficking related to World Cup soccer games, the Olympics and the Super Bowl. It found that, “despite massive media attention, law enforcement measures and efforts by prostitution abolitionist groups, there is no empirical evidence that trafficking for prostitution increases around large sporting events.”