TEXAS - As thousands of football fans descend on Texas for Sunday's Super Bowl, law enforcement agencies are keeping watch for a different kind of out-of-town visitor: pimps selling children for sex.
Cities that host the big game often attract a bustling sex trade. This year, Texas authorities and advocacy groups are stepping up their anti-prostitution efforts, especially where young girls are concerned.
"Most people don't know that our children are being brutalised this way, and we have to stop it," said Deena Graves, founder of Traffick911, a Texas organisation that launched the "I'm Not Buying It" campaign for Super Bowl XLV. "We need to get mad. We need to get angry about what's happening to our kids right here."
For weeks, volunteers have been canvassing neighbourhoods in Dallas and other cities, distributing door hangers and posters with information. Others have placed coasters in restaurants and bars.
Traffick911 has also made public-service announcements, some featuring current and former NFL players.
"As a man and as a father of two beautiful girls, I'm not buying it and neither should you," Dallas Cowboys player Jay Ratliff says in one television advert. "If you're one of these men buying these young girls, I'm telling you that real men don't buy children. They don't buy sex."
Pimps hawking young girls see the thousands of men who travel to the Super Bowl each year as a gold mine of potential clients. Police in host cities have tried for years to crack down on prostitution by conducting stings or increasing patrols during Super Bowl week. Only in recent years have underage girls come to light in increasing numbers.
Dark side to Super Bowl in US
TEXAS - As thousands of football fans descend on Texas for Sunday's Super Bowl, law enforcement agencies are keeping watch for a different kind of out-of-town visitor: pimps selling children for sex.
Cities that host the big game often attract a bustling sex trade. This year, Texas authorities and advocacy groups are stepping up their anti-prostitution efforts, especially where young girls are concerned.
"Most people don't know that our children are being brutalised this way, and we have to stop it," said Deena Graves, founder of Traffick911, a Texas organisation that launched the "I'm Not Buying It" campaign for Super Bowl XLV. "We need to get mad. We need to get angry about what's happening to our kids right here."
For weeks, volunteers have been canvassing neighbourhoods in Dallas and other cities, distributing door hangers and posters with information. Others have placed coasters in restaurants and bars.
Traffick911 has also made public-service announcements, some featuring current and former NFL players.
"As a man and as a father of two beautiful girls, I'm not buying it and neither should you," Dallas Cowboys player Jay Ratliff says in one television advert. "If you're one of these men buying these young girls, I'm telling you that real men don't buy children. They don't buy sex."
Pimps hawking young girls see the thousands of men who travel to the Super Bowl each year as a gold mine of potential clients. Police in host cities have tried for years to crack down on prostitution by conducting stings or increasing patrols during Super Bowl week. Only in recent years have underage girls come to light in increasing numbers.
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