Miami Super Bowl Host Committee And Partners Launch Outdoor Stop Sex Trafficking Campaign

“Station Domination” takes place at Knight Center Metromover Station

The Miami Super Bowl Host Committee, in conjunction with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade, and other partners has launched a comprehensive outdoor campaign to stop sex trafficking in Miami-Dade County leading up to and beyond the February 2020 Super Bowl in Miami.

The campaign includes a rapid response local text or call trafficking hotline, 305-FIX-STOP, introduced to complement national and other hotlines. This means victims or community members who report trafficking crimes to the local hotline will be connected directly with local “305” Miami rapid response resources.

The launch event featured a complete “Station Domination” take over at the Knight Center Metromover Station. The campaign encompasses billboards, Metromover car wrap, transit stations, bus shelters, Metrorail interior posters, Metrorail station posters and Miami Beach local buses, as well as significant social media efforts. The campaign will be expanded to include additional messaging, languages, media, and locations.

“Earlier this year we launched our Stop Sex Trafficking Campaign – an unprecedented effort involving local, state and federal agencies, as well as a significant number of other partners who have come together to combat sex trafficking with new tools and zero tolerance,” said Miami Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Rodney Barreto. “Since, we’ve worked together and tirelessly to ensure we do our very best to address this critical issue and create a model that will make a difference in our community, future Super Bowl host cities and beyond.

According to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, “This is a highly coordinated rapid response capability to recover victims and arrest offenders, including buyers and traffickers, and engage the local community to help victims escape and report trafficking.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida is also a committed partner of the anti-trafficking campaign.  The Chief Federal Prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan stated, “Sex traffickers prey on the most vulnerable members of our society. They do so without regard to the devastation caused by their criminal acts, as they force and compel victims into prostitution, deprive them of their dignity and profit from their victimization. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stands ready to seek justice for the victims and just punishment for the traffickers. We implore the public to help us protect and serve our community by reporting suspected sex trafficking and/or human trafficking.”

Other key partners include:

    Ashley Moody, Attorney General for the State of Florida

    George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami, FL

    Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Miami, FL

    The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Human Trafficking Task Force

    The South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force

    Over 300 local participating local community organizations

    Stakeholders from throughout local, state, and federal agencies, and throughout the national anti-trafficking community.

“In our convening activity, our collective theme has been “One Team” to represent the determined work of all of the law enforcement agencies and community partners working together,” said The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade Executive Director Kathy Andersen. “We are united to build the strongest force in the country to combat trafficking. Our community is the eyes and voices of those enslaved against their will in trafficking. It is most significant that the campaign is informed directly by trafficking survivor-leaders and community partner working groups. Beware buyers and traffickers. You will be exposed and prosecuted.”

The campaign focuses on three messages:

    “See It. Snap It. Send It,” which alerts the community to use the Miami local hotline 305-FIX-STOP to activate the local Miami rapid response capabilities by texting or calling.

    “Not What You Think,” which features a middle-aged woman with a preteen girl, informing the community that sex trafficking may be facilitated by women as well as men, and breaking the myths of trafficking “stereotypes.”

    “Buy Sex. Be Exposed,” representing a man having been arrested for buying sex, reminding people that buying sex is illegal in Florida. The sex buyer online database in Florida took effect on July 1, 2019, ensuring buyers will be publicly exposed.

The campaign also includes the 24/7 National Human Trafficking Hotline: Call 1-888-3737-888, text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org.  Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages.

The highly collaborative campaign represents a united fight to combat human trafficking because:

    Tragically, Miami-Dade ranks #1 in the State of Florida, which ranks third in the nation, for human trafficking;

    Sex traffickers target our most vulnerable children, particularly those who have been sexually exploited, runaways and children in our child welfare system;

    In Miami-Dade approximately 40% of victims are minors, and 60% are adults with an average age of 18-23 years old;

    In Miami-Dade, there are documented cases of children as young as 12 being sold for sex;

    Children have reported being sold up to 20 times in a day;

    Sex traffickers consider trafficking in children to be a high-profit, low-risk enterprise. Some estimates project that a trafficker can make $150,000-$200,000 per child per year;

    Sex traffickers can be lone individuals, family members or extensive crime networks; and

    Sex trafficking exists within many venues, including homes, fake massage businesses, online escort services, residential brothels, in public on streets, truck stops, strip clubs, hotels and motels and elsewhere.