Dear Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers,
We urge you to publicly reject the offer made by Chicken Ranch of a free “sextravaganza” for the winning Super Bowl Team. This offer is anything but free for the countless women who are exploited and sex trafficked at Chicken Ranch.
A new lawsuit, Doe v. Lombardo, has shed light on the horrifically abusive practices of Chicken Ranch, arguing that they amount to nothing less than slavery in the form of sex trafficking. The below facts are taken directly from the complaint and survivor plaintiff Jane Doe’s experiences at Chicken Ranch:
Chicken Ranch was surrounded by a barbed wire fence and a locked gate which the prostituted women had no key for. They were not allowed to leave or even step outside into the yard without permission. To keep a close eye on them, the women were only allowed to leave on Tuesdays between 8am and 1pm and had to disclose where they were going. If a woman left early, she would be charged a $500 fee. There were specific locations these women were permitted to go outside of the brothel, and they were not permitted to go home at their leisure but only allowed every two weeks.
The women at Chicken Ranch were subjected to gross violations of privacy and autonomy. Jane Doe, the survivor plaintiff in Doe v. Lombardo, was forced to open her mail or medications in front of Chicken Ranch staff, and she was often denied her medication altogether. When Jane Doe was sent jewelry, Chicken Ranch forced her to sell it and took half of the proceeds. Upon arrival at Chicken Ranch, women were subjected to personal searches.
Chicken Ranch employed practices of debt bondage to further their control over the women. They took 50% of the money that the prostituted women received from sex buyers and charged them additional fees on top of that. For example, women were forced to subsidize sex buyers’ transportation to the brothel, and had to pay $120 per week for mandatory STI testing. Chicken Ranch regularly gouged women’s wages through fines; for example, if women were late to a lineup, which they were given only 3 minutes notice for, they would face a $500 fine. Because of these practices, many of the women not only failed to earn reasonable wages, but actually became indebted to the brothels, further diminishing their independence.
Chicken Ranch’s living and “working” conditions were unconscionable.
In light of all the above, we urge the winning Super Bowl team to publicly reject Chicken Ranch’s repulsive offer, noting that you refuse to participate in the brothel’s sex trafficking of women. As the winning team, you have an incredible opportunity to call attention to this horrific, yet normalized and profitable, crime. Please use your power for good.
Sincerely,
Dawn Hawkins
CEO, National Center on Sexual Exploitation
