Sex Slavery and the Super Bowl
This weekend, the San Francisco Bay Area could see as much as an $800 million boost to its local economy, thanks to Super Bowl 50, which this year pits the Denver Broncos against the Carolina Panthers. There is, however, a darker side to that boost in the business of human trafficking, a $32 billion a year industry that some reports indicate sees an uptick during major events like the Super Bowl. Republican Congresswomen Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Barbara Comstock of Virginia joined Yahoo News & Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga to discuss legislation aimed at combating the growing industry amid the news that Broncos practice-squad safety Ryan Murphy was sent home ahead of Sunday’s game after being questioned and released by police during a prostitution sting that involved his brother.
Rep. Noem pointed to the Internet as a reason for the growth in the human trafficking industry. She said, “We were able to last year finally pass legislation that would stop these websites from knowingly being able to advertise children for sex, so we’re making some ground in protections in place, but I really think that’s what added to the boom.”
Regarding why events like the Super Bowl can lead to an increase in human trafficking Rep. Comstock explained: “It’s really about the human traffickers themselves. What they do is they go to events in areas where they know there will be a target population that they are trying to sell their wares to. In this case, they’re selling human beings, usually young girls and young boys.” She continued, “There are young girls and young boys who are trafficked and taken around the country for events such as this in order to make money, and it’s modern-day slavery.”
Rep. Noem who, along with Rep. Comstock, is supporting Sen. Marco Rubio in the Republican race for president, urged that more attention be paid to the issue of human trafficking on the campaign trail and said that she and Rubio “have discussed it in depth, so I’m grateful that we have someone running for president to protect our children too.”
