The Super Bowl.
Football, half-time, hilarious commercials. And sex trafficking.
In recent years, the public has become more aware of the tragedy of sex trafficking at large sporting events or conferences. Because of this awareness, law enforcement is preemptively striving to ensure safety and security to the many thousands of men and women that will be pouring into the Minneapolis area for the Super Bowl.
But in the age of technology, the danger of sex trafficking is no longer restricted to the streets.
Websites, like Backpage.com, make ‘pimping out’ and sex trafficking easy.
Backpage.com is the leading website known for the facilitation of online prostitution and
sex trafficking in America. Sex buyers don’t have to risk walking past a cop on the corner when they can simply go online and search for the man, woman, or child they want to sexually exploit for pleasure. Unfortunately, the combination of the Super Bowl and Backpage’s advertising for commercial sex presents pimps and sex traffickers with opportunities to make money.
Legislators and law enforcement alike know that Backpage will be a hub for trafficking during the Super Bowl. In past years, prostitution busts surrounding the Super Bowl regularly revolve around ads posted on Backpage.com.
It is therefore vital that law enforcement officials monitor Backpage.com during, and after, the Super Bowl for sex trafficking and prostitution in order to identify and aid victims.
You can take action in two important ways.
1. Participate in the 2018 Tackle Demand social media awareness campaign
You can help spread the message that “real sports fans don’t buy sex” on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr by signing our Thunderclap. Thunderclap is a tool that creates a “virtual flashmob” in order to raise awareness about an issue by scheduling a one-time message to go out on your account.
These messages will all be posted on the same day, at the same time, in order to reach a wider audience! Sign up below:
Learn more about the Tackle Demand campaign here.
2. Ask Senators to hold websites like Backpage.com accountable so they are no longer immune from liability for facilitating sex trafficking.
You can learn more about the law that currently protects sex trafficking websites here.