Sex and the Super Bowl
Many of you know that we employ women who have been exploited by the sex industry…many of them trafficked into the industry.
A couple years ago I started searching for events in America that stood up against human/sex trafficking. I was thinking conventions, prevention and networking events. The one search result that came up over and over was the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the Super Bowl has become an awareness event because it draws the supply and demand factors from across the country to a single city for a single weekend.
This year it’s in Houston, Texas.
The Super Bowl is the largest human trafficking event in the country. Former Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot declared the Super Bowl the “single largest human trafficking incident in the U.S.”
I first heard the depth of human trafficking four years ago from a Houston based coalition that daily stands up for its cities victims. This problem has existed in Houston long before this weekend and will continue well after the Super Bowl LI Champions leave town.
Awareness weekends are great but do they really solve the complex issue at hand? What we need is people to take action! Annie Lobert, who was trafficked for over ten year, gives a few practical points that we agree can make a real difference.
- “We need to do more as a society to rescue the girls (and boys) who are trapped by trafficking.”
- “There are shelters to fund for the souls who need rehabilitation.”
- “We need more resources like doctors and lawyers, educational and vocational training to give those who are rescued a real chance at a brand new life.”
- “The best sermon preached is one without words. Promises to love without putting those words into action are just empty proposals. It’s not tangible until it is actually seen. Love is action. If we were a people of action instead of awareness, we could put an end to sex trafficking.”
Awaken believes awareness can be the first step....but real change will occur through action!
Join us through our Kickstarter campaign (below) as we pack our bags and head across the pacific to Bangkok, Thailand where the supply and demand factors of the Super Bowl happen 365 days a year.
Let’s join our partner's NightLight in action as they daily rescue, rehabilitate, put resources at the issue, and Love these women who are rebuilding their lives.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1379587830/fashion-for-freedom-by-awaken