Human trafficking during major sporting events such as the Superbowl, World cup, World Series - Thesis Example

? Human trafficking during major sporting events such as the Superbowl, World cup, World Series and etc Abstract This paper focuses on the different dimensions of human trafficking in major sports events. It starts with the concept of human trafficking and its practices in different major sports events. For this purpose some primary and secondary research techniques have been adopted in order to depict and magnify the problem of human trafficking in these events. The focus is also on the study of finding solution to the problem and advising policy implications in order to eliminate this crime which is a shame in itself. 1. Introduction According to an UK ratified instrument, the definition of human trafficking is as follows: “Trafficking in person” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transport, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at the minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or removal of organs.”(Great Britain. Parliament, 10) In other words it can be said that human trafficking is modern day slavery and fastest growing criminal industry in the world with the means of threat, force, coercion, raid, deception and exploitation being the prime parameters of this socially degenerating phenomenon. The paper at its core tries to develop an elaboration of the varied forms of human trafficking associated with the great sporting events like Olympic Games, Super bowl, Football World cup, Basketball and other sporting events. The research question which it attempts to answer is that ‘Does human trafficking exist in these sporting events? If so how much and to what extent is that valid? What are the types of human trafficking exists in these mega sporting events? Human trafficking in the form of slavery It has been almost two hundred years that there has been abolition of transatlantic slave trade and declaration for the United Nations that, ‘slavery and slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms’ (Kathryn 3). But human trafficking in its ugly form is still persistent in our world and human beings are living in the state of slavery. In ancient times the concept of tied labor or slavery was a predominant feature and people used to born or inherit slavery and there were no laws or laws which persisted were not stringent at all. But this feature is still persistent today although the laws are rigid and strict. As for example in Mauritania, despite the country passed its third official abolition of slavery in 1980 approximately 20 percent of the population is born into an inherited slavery. Here lies the crux of modern slavery. In the modern world the enslaved people are born in freedom but lose their freedom when they are illegally transported to different countries and they are treated like animals with no human conditions and are under threat of violence or even death (Kathryn 3). It has been found that the women are most vulnerable to human trafficking. At least half of international trafficking cases are for sexual exploitation and women account for around ninety-eight percent of forced sexual exploitation. These women are given employment opportunities and later they are moved into the realm of human trafficking and thus into the slavery (Bales et al, 66). 2. Human trafficking during sports events World sporting events have always been recognized as a ‘showcase of world class athleticism and teamwork’. But the horrifying fact behind these great sporting events is that human trafficking in its ugliest face is persistent in these events. Initially the major concern for sex trafficking in the sporting emerged in the 2006 World Cup and consequently numerous countries, European parliament, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the media expressed their fear of the World cup being plagued with sex trafficking. With the increase in the fear and concern about sex trafficking for World Cup 2006, the coach of the French World Cup soccer team said that, “It is truly scandalous. People are talking about women, importing them to satisfy the base instincts of people associated with football. It is humiliating enough for me that football is linked with alcohol and violence. But this is worse. It is slaves that will come and be put into houses. Human beings are being talked about like cattle, and football is linked with that” (Hayes 1105). 2.1Olympic Games and human trafficking First Olympic Games were held in 776 BC but was then banned in 394 AD and finally as a global event it was instated in Athens in 1876. The intention of the Olympic Games was to eliminate the prejudices that were involved in the social division among the nations of the world. Modern motivation was guided by the idea of providing equal economic opportunities and targets an optimized profit realization. An event chosen as a mega event should involve the prime variables like level of tourism, publicity, tourist expenditures, and an aim to develop the location for economic development and desirability. Statistics revealed that the International Olympic Commission alone earns revenue of approximately $ 2 billion from the media rights and sponsorships. It has been the case that the increase in the number of visitors to a country for watching these sports events creates or exaggerates the increased demand of prostitution and human trafficking. The increase in the flow of money in these games has attracted the possibilities of human trafficking in Olympic Games. London 2012 Olympics: ‘vice girls hope to strike gold.’- This was the headline in an U.S newspaper when fears of huge number of sex workers and trafficked women were encountered coming into UK for the 2012 Olympic Games. In 2004 in Athens there was an anticipated increase of 20,000 forced prostitutes who were suspected to be trafficked. But according to the Greece’s Annual Report on Organized Crime and International Organization on Migration (IOA) only 181 persons were trafficked in all in 2004.There were no such rigorous evidence of sexual exploitation encountered in the 2004 Olympics. Internationally there is a strong tendency to focus on the convergence of prostitution and human trafficking (Schuster). 2.2 Empirical evidences of human trafficking in Olympic Games The concern for the topic in question deals with the evidences of human trafficking found in the Olympic Games. However the issue is extremely robust but empirical evidences or statistics are very less in reality. For example in connection with the issue of human trafficking in the Olympic Games, a researcher in the George Washington University finds in his research that there is no as such evidences of human trafficking encountered. In favor of this he states that the claims of increase in such events are overblown or inaccurate. In another example it was discovered that a forecast was made by the media reports for the German World Cup was that 40,000 women suspected of being trafficked was found to be unrealistic and unfounded. The reason for this can also be attributed to the increase in the prevention movement and law enforcement efforts in curbing down the possibility of human trafficking (Sex trafficking and the 2012 London Olympics). 2.3 Super Bowl Games- Sex trafficking The Super Bowl Games is the most watched program on TV every year. But the people are unaware of the darker side of this game. It is fact that like other games Super Bowl has been a nucleus of attraction for sex trafficking and child prostitution. In the United States of America this game has been largest sex trafficking event. Super Bowl is a large sporting event and are also prime targets for sex traffickers because of the escalated demand enthralled by the thousands of men visiting the events and spend their weekend for fun. It has been estimated that at least 10,000 sex workers has been infiltrated into Miami. Following the year several stringent efforts were adopted in order to curb this down. Despite these efforts a large number of women and children are sexually exploited. Bills and laws have been passed for toughening the human trafficking in the Super Bowl Games (Holocomb). 2.3.1Primary research Everything in the world changes over time. In order to find the existence of human trafficking in the Super Bowl games Spacio temporal analysis of online classified ads surrounding the event is taken as a tool for examination. Online behaviors were examined before and after the analysis. The Super Bowl XLV held on February 6, 2011 provided the scope for examining the subject of the research. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in anticipation to the threat of the human trafficking stated that Super Bowl is “one of the biggest human trafficking events in the United States” (Whitehead). 2.3.2 Process of primary research For finding answer to the research question the Backpage site for the Dallas area was selected as the outline classified site where all the posts were supposed to be collected. Targets were locked for the posts made in the Adult section of Backpage for the Dallas area however the prime target was focused on the post made to the female escorts section which was located within the Adult section of the site. The intention was to identify and measure the frequency of unique posts for a week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday and also to capture the text within each post. The collection of data includes approximately 5,500 ads online posts covered from the period of December 27, 2010 to February 6, 2011 (Latonero). The above study reveals that a noticeable rise in the number of unique posts per day in February 5 and 6. The graph states indicates that more than 300 escort ads were posted in these two days as compared to the overall average of 129 to 130 posts per day during the total period of survey conducted. The posts shown in the graph follow a cyclical pattern where fewer posts appear early in the week and more posts appear on Friday. The smallest number of posts typically appear on Sundays but the graph denotes the inverse case whereby was found on February 6, 2011- The Super Bowl Sunday. As compared to the average number of posts to the Adult section, the number of posts on Super Bowl Sunday represented an increase of approximately 136 percentages. The primary research thus conducted shows the rapid increase in the posts of the adult section of the websites but the fact is that no real cases for sex trafficking was encountered (Latonero). 2.3.4 Secondary Research A number of reports have been found to encounter the noticeable increase in trafficking during Super Bowl games. The Department of Children and Families took in 24 children trafficked to the city for sex during 2009 Super Bowl games in Tampa, Florida. With the advance in Super Bowl, internet classified ads featuring child victims of prostitution rose significantly. Executive director of child advocacy group, Deena Graves said that law enforcement officials and advocacy group rescued approximately 50 girls during Super Bowl games. A person was taken into custody after publishing an ad featuring a 14-year-old on Craigslist as a “Super Bowl Special” during February 6, 2011 in Super Bowl Game which was held in Miami (Latonero 25). According to the president of National Center For Missing & Exploited with respect to the Super Bowl showdown in Dallas states that, “What we've learned is that sexual trafficking, sexual exploitation of children in particular, is all about supply and demand.” (Michelle 7) Texas attorney general Greg Abbott states that, “There is a looming potential explosion of human trafficking around the Super Bowl”. Strict vigilance mechanisms were adopted by the State with the rigorous involvement of the FBI to arresting the pimps and the culprits. Abbott says that, “We will find them and arrest them, and put them behind the bars” (Michelle 7). 2.4 Preventive measures adopted in order to curb down the possibilities of human trafficking in Super Bowl Coalition for Corporate Responsibility for Indiana and Michigan (CCRIM) which includes members i.e., the sisters of the Holy Cross in Notre Dam, Indiana worked with a task force which comprised of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and other nonprofit organizations in order to raise awareness about human trafficking and the necessary steps in order to prevent it. CCRIM contacted managers of approximately 220 hotels within a 50 mile radius of Indianapolis in order to ask four questions which are as follows: 1. “Have employees received training to recognize potential occurrences of human trafficking in their hotels?” 2. “Is there a protocol in place for hotel employees to document and report possible incidences of trafficking?” 3. “Are hotel employees/managers aware of the local groups working to end trafficking?” 4. “Is the hotel willing to make anti-trafficking information available to guests?” (Smessaert) Preventive measures have been successful in reducing the human trafficking during Super Bowl. An anti trafficking organization Traffick911 attracted hundreds of people in Dallas in order to raise voice against the human trafficking included with the sport. Several organizers and almost 76000 members of Change.org approached the Super Bowl Host Committee for fighting sex trafficking by endorsing the sentence, ‘I’m Not Buying it’ (Child slavery and Exploitation). 3. Human Trafficking in World Cup football 3.1 Estimates and findings Before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, media reports in the public convinced that approximately 40000 women and children were estimated to be trafficked in order to meet the demands of more than 3 million soccer participants. According to the estimates of Fifa in South Africa 450000 international spectators were estimated to visit South Africa in 2008 which was six times less than the spectator visits in the 2006 Germany World Cup. But in reality the media reports has been exaggerated and there was huge gap between the reality and the fears that were expected and forecasted to exist in the event. In 2006, during the men’s football World Cup in Germany massive campaigns were carried on against the women trafficking because there was tremendous fear of increase in the demand for sexual services with the increase in number of male fans and the possibility of infiltration of a huge number of foreign prostitutes. Different women organization in Germany carried on rigorous trafficking movement and it was found that the impact of the human trafficking was less as estimated. UEFA EURO 2008 has been considered as the hub of human trafficking. There were fears of a huge augment in prostitution and human trafficking while preparing for the World Cup in Germany. However these fears did not have much base. Similarly, no major increase in human trafficking or obligatory prostitution had to be anticipated in the backdrop of the EURO 2008 in Switzerland. There was stringent police management efforts initiated and organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (Standing Committee 2). There was also flow of financial support from the Public Authorities Project Organization of Euro 2008 which was based on the in-depth analysis of the events in 2006 Football World Cup. Prostitution is legal in Germany. However the police in Berlin raided “71 brothels in the city during the 2006 World Cup” (Ham, 21). There was no evidence of human trafficking but the police reported to the media that ten women were reported to have involvement in sex trafficking. The objective of this endeavor was to protect the migrant or foreign women from exploitation. The police ‘targeted the sex workers aggressively and intensified the checks on brothels’ (Paterson). These raids were known as ‘rescue raids’ in order to stop the increasing rate of sex trafficking and to protect migrant or “foreign” women from exploitation, but in doing so, police targeted sex workers aggressively in places like Cambodia, the Philippines and the USA which reveal that these extreme raids violated the human rights of the sex workers by treating them inhumanly and giving no bail. In Switzerland all the matches played during the UEFA EURO 2008 were executed without major incidents of human trafficking. However it was the case that hooliganism was more pronounced in these games (Schuster). 3.2 Cases This section deals with the evidence of a real life human trafficking incident during the World Cup Soccer in South Africa, 2010. The soccer is indeed a center of attraction but it has also opened up gateway of opportunities for some people in o Away from the soccer extravaganza, some people have identified an opportunity to make money by the process of recruiting and transporting them for the purpose of selling these youth and exploiting them at the same time. South Africa is regarded as a hub for human trafficking. Although there are no such strong evidences of human trafficking in the country as because the country is lacking in domestic legislation in order to deal with the issue. A real life example of a 21 year old boy trapped in human trafficking is considered here on which the focus is highlighted. The boy belonged to  KwaMaphumulo in KwaZulu Natal region in South Africa. After completing his senior education he was also a part of the unemployed graduates who were unable to complete their university level of education due to deep financial constraints. Being unemployed the boy was looking out for an employment opportunity. In the mean time he came to know about an advertisement in the news paper for a job in the casino for the preparation of the Soccer World cup. Seeing the advertisement he immediately applied to the job. No experience was required for this job and it was mentioned that the recruiters will provide on job training. In order to make the job much more appealing the applicants did not have to make phone calls. They only “needed to send them a text message and in reply the recruiters gave them call” (Gwanya). The boy also did the same and he was provided with a contract form and a letter. The boy replied fast mentioning his age, clothing size. He also mentioned his payment expectations and paid an application fee and enclosed deposit slip. After a week later of his application he received a call from the recruiters who confirmed that his application was successful. He was very excited after receiving the confirmation. He felt proud feeling that he will be able to support his mother and his siblings. He felt more relaxed when he found that the ‘prospective employer’ has made all his travel arrangements. After reaching the destination of job he was completely enthralled by the kind of professionalism they displayed. When he and his peers who were mostly young women traveled in the company’s buses they were offered cool drinks. The drinks had drug contents which made them ‘dizzy and unconscious’ (Gwanya). He also described that after having a second glass of that drink he became absent minded and felt sleepy. But he can remember that he was being introduced in front of some dignified men and women as ‘new release’ who were very much expectant in buying him. He heard that women were eager to buy him with 520 South African Rands for an hour .He understood everything but he was in a subconscious state as he was given more of the drinks. When he was released to bed and slowly recovering from his state of trance he realized that he was trapped in sex traffic. The place where he was confined was tightly secured. However the boy somehow managed to escape from there and returned back to his home. After escaping out of the premises he realized that he was in Bloemfontein, the capital city of South Africa. Still today the boy lives with fear. He has taken the responsibility of educating and warning the people about this evil. At present he is working with the World Vision South Africa through a soccer development project in order to educate the communities about the dangers associated with the World Cup contest (Gwanya). 3.3. Preventive steps adopted in order to protect the children from human trafficking For the protection of the children and youth from the dangers of trafficking World Vision together with Johannesburg Child Welfare and OLIVE Foundation has managed UNICEF’s Child Friendly Space at the FIFA Fan Fest venue in Johannesburg. The Child Friendly Spaces established during the World Cup period provided safe and supervised environments where children exposed to risks were given temporary care, emergency tracing and reunification services (Gwanya). 4. Human Trafficking in Basketball 4.1 Evidence of human trafficking in NBA Alvin Cyrrale Robertson is a retired American basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 1993. He is a well known basketball player. But the horrifying incident associated with this basketball sensation is that he is accused of human trafficking. He was accused of sex trafficking of a juvenile for the purpose of sex and compelling the child in performing sexual performance. The police came to know about the incident when a 14 year old girl waved down a police cruiser in Corpus Christi and told that abducted from San Antonio. She told police she was driven around the city and forced to have sex with various men. Police officials said that the girl was able to identify the places where she was taken. Antonio was arrested and he was a part of a group of seven member involved in child trafficking. Antonio was into prison for three years with the charge of a ‘probation violation involving a rape accusation’ (Alvin Robertson on sex charges after kidnapped girl, 14, forced into prostitution and stripping). From this it is evident that one of the causes of human trafficking is that the players are involved in this obnoxiously perverted practice for which the severity is getting exaggerated (Eastern NC Stop Human Trafficking Now). 4.2 A real life example of sex trafficking involving basketball- A case study in Minnesota Linda Miller runs an agency in Minnesota. Her agency provides support and systematic change for the states diverse communities among which the majority of the resources are spent on helping the victims of human trafficking. After rescuing a 14 year old girl from a sex racket the kind of expression which Linda delivers is that, ‘I just rescued a child’. The child was possibly a drug user and was likely working as a prostitute. When Linda made one to one interaction with the girl she found that the young lady was intelligent, likable and very much athletic and wanted to join the University basketball team. She told Linda that she was trapped in a prostitution racket where a local pimp was grooming her to become a prostitute. She was rescued at the right time. When asked about the future of this girl that whether she would be found in a newspaper caption being caught in a hotel bust or the name of her shall come as a upcoming star in the basketball, then Linda replied that, “I like to think the latter”. Linda was very optimistic and told that it is the hope within us that provide us the strength to change the world (Cavitt 7). Conclusion The paper focuses on the different aspects of human trafficking involved in the mega sporting events like Olympic Games, Soccer Bowl Cup, World cup football and basketball. It has been found that sex trafficking among these mega sports have been a common phenomenon. The craze for these sporting events attracts thousands of persons all over the world and creates a demand for the human trafficking. In case of the Olympic Games the actual reports of sex trafficking was much less than the media reports. In case of the Super Bowl games also the primary and secondary research reveal that there was a tendency of a high rate of human trafficking but the actual figures encountered were much less. Various campaigns and the media hype may be the reason why there was less human trafficking was recorded in reality. Football is also another area which is incorporated into the study. Evidences bear the same trends of differences between the estimated figures and actual figures. But human trafficking does exist and it is reflected from the real life experience of a boy who was trapped in sex traffic in South Africa during the FIFA, 2010. Evidences of human trafficking are also found encircling the game of basketball. An example is cited in this paper is of Alvin Robertson who is an ex NBA star and was caught in a sex trafficking case. From this it can be found out that the stars are involved in the human trafficking case which elevated the level. Thus consciousness and awareness should be spread in a more grass root level in order to eradicate this social evil from its roots. References ”Alvin Robertson on sex charges after kidnapped girl, 14, forced into prostitution and stripping”, Mail Online, 2010, April 24, 2012 from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-1254188/Former-NBA-star-Alvin-Robertson-sex-charges-kidnapped-girl-14-forced-prostitution-stripping.html Bales, Kevin, Trodd, Zoe and Alex Kent Williamson, Modern Slavery: The secret World of 27 million people, Oneworld Publications, 2009 Cavitt, Crishtiana M (2006), Slave Trade Thrives in Minnesota, Human Trafficking, April 19, 2012 from: http://cavittbiographies.com/images/tradearticle.pdf Child slavery and Exploitation, Redlight Children, April 19, 2011 from: http://redlightchildren.org/category/blog/ Eastern NC Stop Human Trafficking Now, 2010, April 19 2012 from: http://www.encstophumantrafficking.org/pdf/Eastern%20NC%20Stop%20Human%20Trafficking%20Newsletter%20issue%201.pdf Great Britain Parliament, Human Trafficking: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, The Stationary Office, 2006 Ham, Julie, “WHAT’S THE COST OF A RUMOUR?”, GAATW, 2011, April 24, 2012 from: http://www.gaatw.org/publications/WhatstheCostofaRumour.11.15.2011.pdf Hayes, Victoria, HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AT WORLD SPORTING EVENTS, CHICAGO-KENT LAW REVIEW 85. 3, April 17, 2012 from: http://www.cklawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/vol85no3/Hayes.pdf Holocomb, Justin, SEX-TRAFFICKING AT THE SUPER BOWL. April 17, 2012 from: http://theresurgence.com/2012/02/02/sex-trafficking-at-the-super-bowl Kathryn, Cullen Du-Pont. Global Issues: Human Trafficking, Infobase, 2009 Latonero, Mark, Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, Technology and Trafficking, 2011, April 17, 2012 from: https://technologyandtrafficking.usc.edu/files/2011/09/HumanTrafficking_FINAL.pdf Michelle, Goldberg. THE SUPER BOWL OF SEX TRAFFICKING, Newsweek (2011) 157.3, p.7 Peterson, Stephen, Sexual enslavement at the Ryder Cup?, Spiked Online, 2010, April 24, 2012 from: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/9712/ “Sex trafficking and the 2012 London Olympics”, Anti-Trafficking Alliance, 2012, April 24, 2012 from: http://www.atalliance.org.uk/index.php/sex-trafficking/2012-olympics Smessaert, Amy H. Nuns to shine spotlight on sex trafficking during Super Bowl 2012. Intermountain Catholic, April 19, 2012 from: http://www.icatholic.org/article/nuns-to-shine-spotlight-on-sex-trafficking-during-super-4113586 Schuster, Martina, Almut Sulzle, and Agnieszka Zimowska, Discourse on prostitution and human trafficking in the context of UEFA EURO 2012. April 24, 2012 from: http://lastradainternational.org/lsidocs/Disourse%20on%20prostitution%20and%20human%20trafficking%20in%20the%20context%20of%20UEFA%20EURO%202012.pdf Standing Committee, European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches, 2011, April 24, 2012 from: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/sport/commitments/violence/T-RV_2011_31_EN_FINAL_follow_up_report_Switzerland.pdf Whitehead, John W. “Sex Trafficking: There's More to the Super Bowl Than Sports”, The Rutherford Institute, 2011, April 24, 2012 from: https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/sex_trafficking_theres_more_to_the_super_bowl_than_sports/ Read More