It's a Super Bowl for Sex Traffickers of Children Too, Say ECPAT-USA and Other Nonprofits

EPCAT-USA and Nonprofits against sex trafficking penalize the National Football League for not coming down harder on child trafficking that surrounds the Super Bowl each year.

Some of America's leading advocacy groups fighting child trafficking in the United States are calling an "audible" and penalizing the National Football League and the Super Bowl Host Committee in North Texas, where the 2011 Super Bowl is being held. Nonprofits like ECPAT-USA (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) say that, while league officials publicly come down hard on players and advertisers who reflect behavior deemed indecent or immoral, they do little to address the issue of rampant child trafficking that surrounds the Super Bowl every year.

The Super Bowl attracts large numbers of sex traffickers, who pour into the host city each year to pimp underage children to the tens of thousands of tourists, visitors and businesses connected to the game. According to ECPAT-USA, while law enforcement officials are addressing the issue, frequent calls for action from advocacy groups to Super Bowl officials appear to go unheeded.

"The NFL and the Super Bowl Host Committee continue to turn a blind eye to this enormous problem," says Carol Smolenski, executive director of ECPAT-USA. "Our organization, and many of our counterparts such as Traffick911 and Change.org, have repeatedly called upon them to help educate the public and bring needed attention to this extraordinary tragedy taking place in front of one of the largest audiences in the world."

At Change.org, a social action platform, nearly 70,000 members have signed a petition calling for the 2011 Super Bowl Host Committee to take a stand against child sex trafficking by taking action, such as distributing anti-trafficking information in their official Super Bowl materials. "Sadly, the Host Committee continues to refuse these requests," says Amanda Kloer, an editor at Change.org,

Other organizations, however, are listening. Carlson's Radisson Hotels are placing an extra focus on child prostitution and trafficking in their "Responsible Business" training this year. All hotel properties in the Dallas area have received this training in preparation for the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit Traffick911 has launched its "I'm Not Buying It" campaign. "The Super Bowl is a magnet for traffickers who follow the money, and together we are creating a strong 'defensive line' against their plans," says Deena Graves of Traffick911.

"The NFL and Host Committee promise to function in 'a moral, ethical and responsible manner,' says Smolenski. "We think it's time they lived up to their promise."

Around 200,000 children in the U.S. are at risk in the United States each year, according to ECPAT-USA, and major conventions and sporting events like the Super Bowl, which attract a large number of male visitors to the host cities, contribute to the tragedy.

About ECPAT-USA
ECPAT-USA, the U.S. arm of ECPAT International, is focused on protecting children trafficked into the U.S., American children trafficked for sexual exploitation, and foreign children exploited by American tourists traveling abroad. ECPAT International is a global network of organizations working together for the elimination of child trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography. The network is comprised of 81 groups in 74 countries around the world. All ECPAT groups are independent grassroots organizations, working to combat child exploitation at the local level. For more information, visit www.ecpatusa.org or connect on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/causes/1413.

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Tags: EPCAT-USA, Nonprofit, sex trafficking, Superbowl


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