Woodhull Freedom Foundation Releases New Fact Checked Report 'The Super Bowl is not a large human trafficking event.'

Before Sunday, human rights experts Woodhull Freedom Foundation reports on the dangers of the damaging myth that sex trafficking spikes around the Super Bowl.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, February 7, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Woodhull Freedom Foundation, as part of its Fact Checked by Woodhull initiative, has released today its latest report to combat the often-perpetuated myth – and often sensational media headlines – that sex trafficking increases during one of the biggest and most widely-watched sporting events in the world every year: the Super Bowl.

Its recently launched Fact Checked by Woodhull is an accessible tool that uses peer-reviewed research and evidence-based data to debunk myths that are often used to justify repressing and censoring sex, sexuality, and gender expression. The first set of Fact Checks looked at lies and misinformation about pornography and sex work, and this new one released today explores the common myths about sex trafficking and the Super Bowl. This research from the new Fact Checked report, in addition to their 2022 report with SOAR Institute, analyzes sex trafficking trends to confirm this myth has been long-encouraged and perpetuated by law enforcement, state/national governments, and the media – leading to confusion on all sides of the issue.

“The Super Bowl lie needs to stop. Through evidence and research, we know sex trafficking does not drastically trend upward during the Super Bowl, and certainly not more than any other time in the year,” said Ricci Levy, President & CEO at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. “We believe the immense resources spent every year on policing traffickers would be better spent addressing the root causes of sex trafficking in the first place, such as violence in the home or economic disparity. Instead, those resources should be directed to public education about the realities of trafficking and amplifying workers’ rights for sex workers to minimize exploitation and increase safety."

A selection of the new report’s findings shows:

* This myth is generally fueled by false narratives that conflate these experiences — sex workers, sex trafficking victims, and labor exploitation — and has allowed law enforcement, politicians, and advocacy groups to use these misrepresentations to instill fear and implement over-policing in host cities of the big game.

* There are popular but wrong assumptions at play here: (1) that large groups of men will innately lead to more demand for sex workers, which is automatically conflated with higher rates of sex trafficking, and (2) that most sex workers are victims of trafficking when they are generally consenting adults who voluntarily choose to work in the sex industry.

* Some sex workers may experience exploitation working in the game’s host city, as do many laborers in other industries, such as restaurant servers, hotel workers, drivers for hire, food delivery people, and others. Being exploited is not the same as being trafficked.

* Political leaders have increased policing and security resources during these events to target sex trafficking victims. While these enforcement actions have largely failed to intercept victims of trafficking, they have resulted in increased incarceration of consensual sex workers, unhoused people, and immigrants.

With Super Bowl LVI set to take place on Sunday, February 9, in New Orleans, Louisiana, experts are highlighting how this debate interacts with the broader socio-political landscape, the conflation between sex work and human trafficking, and the fulfillment of sex worker rights.

To read the report and learn more about the facts about ‘Sex Trafficking at the Super Bowl’, visit www.woodhullfoundation.org.

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ABOUT THE WOODHULL FREEDOM FOUNDATION:
Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to change laws, policies, and practices across a range of issues that deny or threaten people’s fundamental human right to sexual freedom.

Founded in 2003 and named for Victoria Woodhull, the 19th-century feminist, activist, and suffragette who fought for the right for women to vote in public elections, the Foundation is the preeminent voice at the intersection of sexual rights and human rights that continues to fight against the tyranny of widespread sexual repression in America. To learn more, visit www.woodhullfoundation.org.

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