Sex and the Super Bowl: My first fight against sex trafficking
Never thought I’d ever say this, but I spent 4 days and nights on the streets of Miami, looking for prostitutes. Yes, this good little southern girl drove and walked all around Miami hoping to find an underage girl standing on a street corner. I saw several – or at least several that appeared to fit the description and wanted to approach them and actually looked for ways to approach them. The experience changed my life.
Super Bowl 2010: Miami Dispatch
It was 2010 and I was just learning about sex trafficking in the United States. I joined a group of people who were properly trained and motivated to walk the streets of Miami in the days leading up to the Super Bowl looking for sex trafficking victims. This is not something you should do - it can be very dangerous. The following is my first ever blog on “Sex and the Super Bowl.”
“Prostituted”
I’ve been an attorney for nine years. (2023 = 22 years) Some of those years were as a prosecutor, prosecuting sex offenses against children. I’ve sat across from children as they’ve described to me what horrible things adults did to them, things that no child should ever have to experience much less tell a stranger about. However, my experiences didn’t prepare me for Super Bowl Miami 2010. Worst of all, neither my faith, my education nor my experiences kept me from being so ignorant as to view a prostitute as a criminal and to even say a woman is prostituting – especially younger women - rather than being prostituted.
Yes, there is a difference. I had known that when girls are sexually abused as children, they are much more likely to become sexually promiscuous or end up as a prostitute. In those 4 days in Miami, I learned so much more, too much to even begin to include in this article. However, in those 4 days, I learned that the majority of these girls and women are victims. These girls are raped. Raped repeatedly on a daily basis. And for what? Money for the pimp. The girls’ body is brutally violated so that some pimp can make money. Yes, the pimp, not the girl. As I saw these girls and women on the streets I became furious that it is off the brutal treatment of a woman’s body that these pimps are making money. Why are more people not outraged by this? Why are the feminist organizations not out in force against pimps? Why do they not protest at the Playa’s Ball every year, protest artists who were and/or who promote prostitution, etc.?
The “Life”
These girls are under the direct control of the pimp. She eats what and when he tells her. She wears what he buys for her. He even tells her what to wear. She can’t walk on the sidewalk if a pimp is around, but instead must step off the sidewalk into the street. She can’t look another pimp in the eyes – if she does, she’s subject to a beating. She is subject to constant beatings. She’ll be beaten by fists, feet, 2x4s, clothes hangers and numerous other objects.
Recruitment
How do these girls (and boys) end up being prostituted? Some are recruited. There are actually men out there who look for ways to recruit boys and girls (I’ll just use “girls” to make this easier for everyone) into this lifestyle. When the girl is recruited, she doesn’t know they are being recruited into the “game.” She think she’s getting a new boyfriend. Only after a period of time will the gang rapes by the recruiter’s friends begin and the beatings. It’s only a matter of time before he has turned her out onto the streets. There are also recruiters out there who tell a girl they have a job opportunity for them. When the girl arrives for the interview, she is taken and turned out into prostitution. Of course, beatings are a part of this as well. Some of the kids being prostituted are kidnapping victims. Other kids were runaway kids. Over 1/3 of runaways will be prostituted within 48 hours of running away from home. Oh, and the recruiters? They’re everywhere - some of them go to your children’s schools.
She Cried
As for my Miami experience, the first girl I approached, a girl who appeared to be about 18 years of age. When we approached her and asked if there’s anything she needed – she just started crying. It appeared she wanted out of the life. We noticed her pimp nearby, so we had to leave. A few minutes later she had already been picked up by someone and her body abused. I also had the opportunity to take one of these girls to dinner/breakfast (whatever you call a meal at 3am). I had the chance to talk to her for about an hour. She said she had not eaten all day – had not been allowed to eat. She told me in indirect ways about her family and her child. During our conversation, she constantly was checking her phone and stealing glances out the window – telltale signs she was prostituted. We were able to get her to leave with some of our group. So, we were at least able to get her off the street for the night. When she was about to get into the car, I had the distinctive honor of hugging her and telling her that she is LOVED.
She is Loved and Valued
These girls are truly loved. They are children of God. God has not forgotten them. The Sunday prior to leaving for Miami, we sang a song at church that goes, “Oh no, you never let go, through the fire and through the storm; Oh no, you never let go, never let go of me.” While singing that song, God made it so clear to me that He had not let go of these girls, that He loved them and made it clear that part of my mission in Miami was to let these girls know that they are Loved. I was so privileged to be trusted to deliver that message and to have that opportunity with a girl I took to dinner named “Heaven.”
2023 Sex Trafficking Awareness
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. This blog, and those that will follow, will chronicle my first hand experience working with women who were trafficked, prostituted, abused, and oppressed. Please share to spread awareness and education. Human trafficking is a problem in American, with American children. If you see something, say something. The Human Trafficking hotline is 1-888-373-7888.