Not A Game

In a few days, Americans will gather across the country to watch the Super Bowl.

But what many of them don’t know is what happens outside of the stadium—a seedy underworld that profits off the sale of American children.

Every year, approximately 100,000 children are forced into prostitution in the United States—and many are illegally “bused in” to locations hosting major sporting events like the Super Bowl. Once the game is over, victims are relocated to the next profitable event.

The trafficking of our kids is not a game.

I can tell you firsthand that homeless children—desperate for food, shelter, and comfort—are the biggest victims of this horrific industry. At Covenant House, we’ve seen too many of these innocent children come through our doors.

I can also tell you that no homeless kid sells his or her body by choice. In a survey we conducted with Fordham University, almost 25 percent of homeless kids were either victims of trafficking or felt they needed to trade sex in order to survive.

ALL of them greatly regretted having to trade their bodies—a trauma that can haunt them for the rest of their lives.

We are doing everything we can to help these victims, as well as ensure that homeless kids who are at risk of becoming victims never fall prey to this vile industry.

Fortunately, we are seeing progress in the fight against child sex trafficking. For example:

• Louisiana, Indiana, and New Jersey have already led human trafficking crackdowns during the Super Bowl.
   
• Last year, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that would allow more sex trafficking victims to receive social services instead of jail sentences by extending the Safe Harbor Act to 16- and 17-year-olds.
   
• Congress recently signed a law to identify sex trafficking victims within the foster care system and provide them with vital support services.

Specific antitrafficking efforts in Arizona are also in progress:

• Attorney General Mark Brnovich just unveiled an anti-human trafficking campaign in preparation for this year’s Super Bowl.
   
• Governor Jan Brewer approved a special task force that suggested a number of strategies to address trafficking throughout the state.
   
• New sex trafficking legislation is set to be presented to the Arizona House of Representatives by Rep. Victoria Steele, which would clear the records of minors who are victims of prostitution.

But as someone who deals with the repercussions of child trafficking all too often, I’m afraid that these measures just aren’t enough. There’s so much more we need to do to stop this powerful industry across America—not just during the Super Bowl, but all year long.

We need to implement policies that will stop trafficking before it begins, including training law enforcement officers to recognize child traffickers.

We need to enact harsher punishments for pimps and johns, and give more support to victims so they can leave the streets safely and permanently.

We need to help homeless kids who are out on the streets right now, before they become sex trafficking victims.

We need to make sure these kids know there are people who are fighting for them and that there’s somewhere they can go for help.

Please take a stand against sex trafficking today. Help us fight this horrific industry—on Game Day and beyond. Together, we can urge every Attorney General in America to take concrete action against child trafficking.

We have our work cut out for us. But if we don’t do something, who will?

Kevin Ryan, a father, activist and child advocate, leads Covenant House International, one of the largest charities in the Americas devoted to serving homeless and trafficked children and youth. Since 1972, Covenant House has reached more than one million young people and provided them with the life-saving care they desperately need.

Image: football field, winui / Shutterstock