Spotlight on Human Trafficking and Super Bowl XLVI

A great deal of effort went into preparations for the big event that took place in Indianapolis this past February. Much was done to create a welcoming environment for those who spent time in our city. Hoosier hospitality was in full force for the week of festivities. However, there was one group that many Hoosiers were not extending their well know hospitality to...human traffickers. Every year it is estimated that thousands of persons are victims of human trafficking in the United States and an estimated 12.3 million worldwide (US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 2010) Large events such as the Super Bowl present an opportunity for traffickers to set up shop and exploit adults and children against their will for the purposes of selling them into forced sex or labor. Human trafficking is one of the world’s most lucrative crimes. The United Nations estimates that 32 billion dollars is earned each year by traffickers across the globe. (International Labor Office, A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor, Global Report Under the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, (Geneva: 2005), 55, http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilobookstore/order-online/books/WCMS_081882/lang--en/index.htm (accessed December 9, 2010).