My Super Week in Miami

Today I leave for sunny Miami! Well, not so sunny this week. But still..it's Miami! And perhaps you are thinking, “my what a convenient time to be headed to Miami, with the Super Bowl and all”, and that's EXACTLY why I'm going to Miami! But, not really for the Super Bowl...

I will be joining volunteers from across to the state raise awareness throughout all Miami on domestic minor sex trafficking that is happening in the area. Domestic minor sex trafficking, or underage girls and boys engaged in commercial sex acts [stripping, prostitution, escort services, etc...] is sadly a commonplace in our country. According to Shared Hope International, there are 300,000 child prostitutes in the U.S. today. With 2,300 children going missing everyday, 2/3 of them will be approached by a pimp within the first 48 hours. And events like the Super Bowl bring these pimps and their “slaves” out to make a ton of cash from the influx of tourists and party-goers.

One local paper reported, “Experts raise concerns over the risk of increase in sex trafficking and child prostitution during Super Bowl in 2010. This year, the all American celebrated national event will be held in Miami, Florida. According to F.R.E.E. International, an anti-human trafficking group based in New York, traffickers and pimps are planning on bringing additional number of women and children for prostitution during the Super Bowl in Miami. A big events like Super Bowl is almost always accompanied by the increase in sexual services and online advertisement for prostitution, according to the expert. In 2008, the experts at Polaris Project in Colorado also executed prevented efforts to countermeasure the risk of increased sex trafficking during the event. In particular, the Florida law enforcement authority's recent observation evidences that the risk of increase in human trafficking is particularly strong in Miami. While a big even like Super Bowl alone poses the risk of increase in sex trafficking in the area, the law enforcement recently recognized human trafficking as one of the three rising major crimes in Florida, which is driven by domestic servitude and prostitution. Free International, in a joint effort with Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking and other organizations, are planning on executing a direct outreach program for international as well as domestic human trafficking victims.”

So during this week, we will be walking the city of Miami, educating people on the signs and signals of domestic minor sex trafficking and what to do if a potential victim [or perpetrator] is identified. We will also be doing surveillance on high-risk areas in hopes of alerting law enforcement officers to illegal activity. I was able to do a similar outreach last Super Bowl season when the game was in Tampa, and am excited to be returning. Especially since Miami is already a hot-spot for human trafficking. So keep up with my blog, as I will be posting from Miami all the adventures we abolitionists will encounter!