Sex trafficking at Super Bowl worries New Jersey

[VanessaofBC]

Kathleen Friess gives a presentation on human trafficking in Hamilton Township, N.J., for hotel and nightclub employees and tries to dispel notions of what human trafficking looks like. Officials are training legions of law enforcement personnel, hospitality workers, high school students and airport employees to watch for signs of it before the Super Bowl game Feb. 2. (Mel Evans/Associated Press)

Sex trafficking at Super Bowl worries New Jersey
Feb. 2 football game expected to draw hundred of thousands of visitors — and pimps, prostitutes
The Associated Press Posted: Jan 06, 2014 6:40 AM ET
Last Updated: Jan 06, 2014 6:40 AM ET

Law enforcement agents in New Jersey have redoubled efforts to fight what they worry could be one of the biggest menaces to come with next month's Super Bowl: sex trafficking.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to descend on New Jersey for the Feb. 2 football game in East Rutherford. Many believe the state's sprawling highway system, proximity to New York City and diverse population make it an attractive base of operations for traffickers.

New Jersey has a huge trafficking problem," said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who is also co-chairman of the House anti-human trafficking caucus. "One Super Bowl after another after another has shown itself to be one of the largest events in the world where the cruelty of human trafficking goes on for several weeks."

Law enforcement in New Jersey has worked for years to battle forced prostitution. The state strengthened its human trafficking law in early 2013, but it hit a roadblock in August when a federal judge ruled that a portion of the law that pertains to commercial sex ads posted online may conflict with federal legislation. The state is appealing.

There are scant statistics and much debate over how much sex trafficking increases during a Super Bowl or large sporting event, but it's been enough of a concern to prompt New Jersey and prior Super Bowl host cities to pay attention to it.

Danielle Douglas, a speaker and advocate who identifies herself as a sex trafficking survivor, said any major sporting event attracts sex traffickers looking to make money.

"The Super Bowl is a huge, huge arena for sex trafficking," Douglas said. Some visitors "are coming to the Super Bowl not even to watch football — they are coming to the Super Bowl to have sex with women, and/or men or children."

Super Bowl Prostitution
Kathleen Friess presents a session on human trafficking for hotel and nightclub employees in Hamilton Township, N.J. Officials are training legions of law enforcement personnel, hospitality workers, high school students and airport employees to watch for signs of it before the Feb. 2 Super Bowl game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (Mel Evans/Associated Press)

Soon after the announcement that the 2014 Super Bowl would be held at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey officials set up training for legions of law enforcement personnel, hospitality workers, high school students, airport employees and others on signs of sex trafficking. Local houses of worship are handing out fliers notifying congregants of warning signs, and truckers are being trained to look for people — mostly women but also men — who may be held against their will.

Sex trafficking, to be prosecuted as such, must involve — unlike prostitution — not only a buyer and seller of sex but also a pimp or trafficker controlling the transaction, according to the New Jersey attorney general's office.

Officials are also warning the public to watch for people who are forced into labor and individual pimps exerting control over young women and men who are oftentimes underage.

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"We've enlisted, basically, every service provider that people coming to the Super Bowl are going to run into," Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said. "There are a lot of eyes that are going to be on their activities and going to be on spotting potential victims of this crime."

The Super Bowl task force convened by Hoffman's office is comprised of state, local and federal law enforcement officers, community groups, social workers and others. Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said ads are starting to pop up on Internet sites and law enforcement officials are gleaning information from them.

"When you're about ready to have 400,000 men come to this area of the country," Molinelli said, "you're invariably going to have more people try to take advantage of that by providing prostitutes and prostitution."

Officials in Texas, Louisiana and Indiana strengthened efforts to combat sex trafficking ahead of previous Super Bowls. In Arizona, which will host the 2015 Super Bowl, U.S. Sen. John McCain's wife, Cindy, has been speaking out, calling the Super Bowl the "largest human-trafficking venue on the planet."

'More significant'

It is difficult to ascertain the exact number of trafficking cases in a given year or place because so much of it goes unreported. In 2012, the Polaris Project, a nonprofit that works to combat human trafficking, received 20,652 calls reporting trafficking to its hotline, 330 of which were from New Jersey, said CEO Bradley Myles.

"The overall size of the phenomenon in the United States is much more significant than statistics show," Myles said.

Polaris plans to add additional staffers to the hotline in February, but the organization has seen only a modest uptick in calls during previous Super Bowls, Myles said.

In December, Kathleen Friess led a two-hour presentation in Hamilton Township for hotel and nightclub employees and tried to dispel notions of what human trafficking looks like. Often, Friess said, it's a local woman forced into sex work by a man she initially thought had romantic intentions. Other times, it's a woman from another country whose family is threatened.

Friess told the employees to look for women who may not be in control, who look frightened and may exhibit signs of physical abuse. Victims are often runaways, the impoverished, abuse victims or those living in the country illegally, she said.

'You have to be aware'

"You guys are at that front line, seeing them coming and going," Friess said. "You're in a position to prevent human trafficking."

Ronald Moore, the security manager at the Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, said he plans to replicate the presentation for his staff. A former police officer, Moore said the hotel has been preparing for the possibility of crime during Super Bowl week.

"You're going to have the potential for everything from stolen goods to assault to check fraud. Everything you can imagine is going to be happening," he said. "You have to be aware."

Jane Wells, a filmmaker who recently released "Tricked," a documentary about human trafficking, said she wants law enforcement to focus on the crime all the time, not just around sporting events.

"This is a 365-day-a-year problem," Wells said.

SOURCE: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sex-trafficking-at-super-bowl-worries-new-jersey-1.2485213

 

[HankQuinlan]

I am disappointed in the CBC for even posting this crap. This is the same thing you see before the Olympics or any other major event; a way to whip up hysteria against prostitution. Sure -- there are some instances (probably), but it is mostly just propaganda. I notice the comments are not open on that article, or they would be getting an earful.

 

[rick hunter]

High-End Escorts Arrested in Super Bowl Prostitution, Cocaine Crackdown

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Sex-Trafficking-Super-Bowl-Arrests-Brooklyn-Marriot-Sources-242695841.html

The US routinely do these sweeps, whether for drugs or prostitutes. Will some guys going to the Superbowl go looking for sex? Obviously but I highly doubt it's that big of a number. Elliott Spitzer, the former AG was caught during a routine sweep. Were the sp's that much busier during the Olympics here in 2010?

 

[Tugela]

High-End Escorts Arrested in Super Bowl Prostitution, Cocaine Crackdown

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Sex-Trafficking-Super-Bowl-Arrests-Brooklyn-Marriot-Sources-242695841.html

But, these women for the most part were not being brought in, they were already there. The people coming in were the fans, not the escorts. Some of them will obviously see escorts while visiting because that is what they do. If they were not at the superbowl they would be employing the services of a local SP at where ever they lived instead.

 

[PlayfulAlex]

The US routinely do these sweeps, whether for drugs or prostitutes. Will some guys going to the Superbowl go looking for sex? Obviously but I highly doubt it's that big of a number. Elliott Spitzer, the former AG was caught during a routine sweep. Were the sp's that much busier during the Olympics here in 2010?

Yes, way, both during the construction leading up to the actual Olympics, and during. It's not been the same since, but I expected that, going in...

 

[Miss*Bijou]

Yes, way, both during the construction leading up to the actual Olympics, and during. It's not been the same since, but I expected that, going in...

I don't know. I was not way busier, not even close. I know others weren't either. The Olympics, both during and before were very average. During the actual Olympics was actually really quiet. It's all hype. Sure, some guys will see escorts but same for conventions. Just like any other time, I'm sure some girls happened to be busy, others not so much. And some weren't but still bs'd that they were. Lol the fact that some girls from other cities buy into it and rush in thinking they're going to make lots of money, just means there are even more girls. Everyone thought they were going to make big money for the olympics.

I remember how many people who owned condos downtown thought they'd make huge money renting out their condos to tourists. They had them listed for months before the actual Olympics and we're asking ridiculous prices. Many of them kept the condos empty for months leading up to the Olympics because no one would pay these stupid rates. And those who at least tried to rent them before the olympics by listing them for reasonable prices, still had trouble finding takers since they expected those tenants to either get the hell out for the Olympics or to pay the ridiculous amounts they thought they could make renting to tourists. I doubt many of them made any money and I bet they actually lost money by keeping the condos empty for months and then finding out that so many other greedy fools were still stuck with un rented condos a few weeks before the Olympics that all the rates went way down and no one rented their condos for anywhere near as much as they assumed they would. It was so ridiculous. But they got what they deserved, greedy stupid people!


As Hank mentioned, the human trafficking panic gets pulled out every big sports event, every year and then nothing comes of it. Yet, they (the stupid media) still repeat it again the next time around. It is soooo tiresome and so old by now.

Miss Vanessa, you should read up on the whole abolitionist movement and the human trafficking (aka 'modern day slavery') moral panic and their tactics. They've been at like bit for a while.. Like the Farley 'study' you posted a few days ago, this stuff is total nonsense. Unfortunately it's reported uncritically in the media so most people assume it's true but when you look into it, you find right away that it's bs. The same bs over and over and over again. Don't get sucked into it.


Just a few places to look:


http://myweb.dal.ca/mgoodyea/Docume...king Weitzer Pol Soc 2007 35(3) 447-475.pdf

http://titsandsass.com/

http://maggiemcneill.wordpress.com/

http://www.lauraagustin.com/

Just in time for February, the myth of human trafficking and the Super Bowl returns:
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2014/01/just_in_time_fo.php

http://www.villagevoice.com/sex-trafficking/

The Super Bowl trafficking myth:
http://www.salon.com/2014/01/30/the_super_bowl_trafficking_myth/

http://canvas.union.shef.ac.uk/wordpress/?p=1957

http://rabble.ca/babble/sex-worker-...-sex-trafficking-women-get-government-funding

http://www.projectredumbrella.org/the-problem/

Super Bowl sex:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/01/31/super-bowl-sex/

http://www.dangardner.ca/articles/item/224-sex-data-and-ideology

http://maggiemcneill.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/weitzer-the-mythology-of-prostitution.pdf

http://sexworkresearch.wordpress.co...dence-based-conclusions-in-human-trafficking/

http://www.bayswan.org/traffick/Weitzer_Criminologist.pdf

http://eminism.org/blog/

http://mythofsextrafficking.blogspot.ca/?m=1

 

[VanessaofBC]

Thank you Miss Bijou, for the advice. There is just so so much info out there, I have no idea where to start!

 

[Miss*Bijou]

Yeah, I totally understand. I guess it kind of depends how much time you're interested in spending on it. It doesn't necessarily require a terrible amount of time but it does require some time to read through some of it because it's very much constructed on a lot of misinformation and misrepresentation by different players who don't seem like natural allies (the religious organizations and radicals feminists) who share a common goal but for very different reasons/ideologies. There's a lot of confusion because these groups purposely change definitions without giving these definitions so they manipulate facts as well as intentionally use very emotional and inflammatory language. It just takes a bit of reading but it's easy to quickly get the idea of what's going on.

I gave you some great links but if I narrow it down some more for you, I'd say the papers (pdf links) by Ronald Weitzer, Laura Agustín's blog are a great place to start.




<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Yt4OPoHmpRg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[rick hunter]

"Yes, way, both during the construction leading up to the actual Olympics, and during. It's not been the same since, but I expected that, going in... "

Really I'm a bit surprised, I don't think it would have been much busier. There wasn't a lot of new venues to build here in Vancouver besides the Oval in Richmond and curling rink on Main St. I remember we thought it would be busy at work during the Olympics but it was actually really really slow. People were either downtown partying, at the actual event or watching it on tv.

I don't know. I was not way busier, not even close. I know others weren't either. The Olympics, both during and before were very average. During the actual Olympics was actually really quiet. It's all hype. Sure, some guys will see escorts but same for conventions. Just like any other time, I'm sure some girls happened to be busy, others not so much. And some weren't but still bs'd that they were. Lol the fact that some girls from other cities buy into it and rush in thinking they're going to make lots of money, just means there are even more girls. Everyone thought they were going to make big money for the olympics.

The Superbowl is just one weekend, I don't know how a sp would make any money if she isn't well reviewed and known. At least with the Olympics and World Cup these are multi weeks events I went to the summer Olympics in London and didn't see any reports by the BBC about a increase of sex workers flooding over from Eastern Europe.

 

[PlayfulAlex]

Yes, way, both during the construction leading up to the actual Olympics, and during. It's not been the same since, but I expected that, going in...

I don't know. I was not way busier, not even close. I know others weren't either. The Olympics, both during and before were very average. During the actual Olympics was actually really quiet. It's all hype. Sure, some guys will see escorts but same for conventions. Just like any other time, I'm sure some girls happened to be busy, others not so much. And some weren't but still bs'd that they were. Lol the fact that some girls from other cities buy into it and rush in thinking they're going to make lots of money, just means there are even more girls. Everyone thought they were going to make big money for the olympics.

"Yes, way, both during the construction leading up to the actual Olympics, and during. It's not been the same since, but I expected that, going in... "

Really I'm a bit surprised, I don't think it would have been much busier. There wasn't a lot of new venues to build here in Vancouver besides the Oval in Richmond and curling rink on Main St. I remember we thought it would be busy at work during the Olympics but it was actually really really slow. People were either downtown partying, at the actual event or watching it on tv.

Perhaps it was a case of being 'the new kid on the block' at that time. As is often the case, in both good and bad situations, many factors usually contribute to the outcome. But from my perspective, which is my only point of reference, it was my busiest year.

Then, this makes the news, and the abolitionists get fuel for their fire...

Florida mom brings daughter, 15, to New York for Super Bowl prostitution and 'fetish stuff': cops

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/moms-pimp-daughter-15-super-bowl-article-1.1597569

 

[VanessaofBC]

Perhaps it was a case of being 'the new kid on the block' at that time. As is often the case, in both good and bad situations, many factors usually contribute to the outcome. But from my perspective, which is my only point of reference, it was my busiest year.

Then, this makes the news, and the abolitionists get fuel for their fire...

Florida mom brings daughter, 15, to New York for Super Bowl prostitution and 'fetish stuff': cops

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/moms-pimp-daughter-15-super-bowl-article-1.1597569

Gee, it`s the states what are the chance they lock her up for life? I got my fingers crossed.

Worst part:

Just before they were about to slap the cuffs on her, the girl announced that she was just 15. And, she told detectives, her mother was waiting for her at another hotel.

 

[Tugela]

There was another woman with them as well, and they were working for a pimp. So I think there is another story there that the reporter didn't quite comprehend. Chances are that all three of them were escorts, the article makes it sound as though the mother was organizing it, but probably it was more like the family business.