Super Bowl Sunday is coming up! And with it comes up the press and media coverage associated with large-scale sporting events. You might be seeing something on the news about how “the Super Bowl is the world’s largest human trafficking event in the world.”

That’s not exactly the case; large sporting events of any kind will cause a spike in demand and increase the likelihood of encountering a victim of human trafficking. But, while you can’t pin exactly how many people are trafficked during an event, here are the things we do know:

  • In 2019, the FBI arrested a total of 169 people during an 11-day operation targeting human traffickers who flooded Atlanta with sex workers ahead of the Super Bowl.

  • The FBI arrested 94 people in a similar operation in Minneapolis during the 2018 Super Bowl.

  • At the 2017 Super Bowl, a sting operation called Operation Guardian Angel yielded 94 human trafficker arrests.

Instead of getting caught up in wondering which event is the largest human trafficking event, treat this time as a chance to learn more about human trafficking. One practical way to fight human trafficking is to learn how to spot it at a sporting event or in your everyday life. Because the fact is human trafficking isn’t just a “Super Bowl Sunday problem.” It’s an everyday problem. It’s a multi-billion industry that exploits millions across the country and across the world. 

How can you fight human trafficking everyday?

  • Learn how to spot the signs: Take our online training course Red Flags. Red Flags is a completely online, 2-hour course that trains you how to identify and report human trafficking as well as covering common misconceptions people have about modern-day slavery. Learn more about this human trafficking education course and receive more great information from 3rd Millennium Classrooms.

  • Report it!: Report any human trafficking situations you see to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, available 24/7. Call 1-888-373-7888 or send a text to BeFree (233733).

  • Get involved with a local organization: A quick internet search should help you find an anti-trafficking organization in your area that you can volunteer for or work with in some way.

  • Donate to anti-trafficking efforts: Organizations like Polaris and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children need donations to keep running and doing what they’re doing to help victims of human trafficking. Consider donating to one of these causes or any other human trafficking organization!

  • Spread the word: Share this information with those around you. By making people aware of what’s happening, we are one step closer to ending modern-day slavery.

You can also check out our post “Get Involved: Anti-Trafficking Resources” for a list of other valuable resources. If you want more information about human trafficking, start by downloading our guide, “4 Signs Someone Is Being Groomed for Trafficking.” Not only will you get some great PDFs but you’ll get new info from us every other week.

We hope these resources are helpful for you as you remember that human trafficking isn’t just “Super Bowl Sunday kind of problem”, it’s an “every day kind of problem.”