| ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – As one hundred million fans cheer their favorite Super Bowl teams this weekend, Nita Belles will be on the ground in New Jersey with her team, Blitz The Trafficker, fighting the sex trafficking that has become prevalent at major sporting events. Belles works closely with law enforcement to shed light on the issue, recover young victims and bring justice to their perpetrators.
In early March, Belles will share her expertise at a national conference in St. Louis, "IGNITE: Sparking Action Against Sex Trafficking.” Belles will teach others how to organize and carry out effective anti-trafficking efforts during major sporting events in their own communities. “The Super Bowl and other major events and conferences are targets for sex traffickers,” says Molly Hackett, founder/principal of Exchange Initiative, the social action organization presenting the IGNITE conference. “If you monitor websites that sell children for sex, you can watch the number available for sale grow in a city where a major sporting event or conference is about to take place,” Hackett said. “Sex traffickers travel to those cities and bring children with them.” The issue of child sex trafficking is much larger than most people realize, according to Hackett. Human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states, and an estimated 300,000 children and adolescents are victims of domestic trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, according to UNICEF. At the IGNITE conference, Belles will present the workshop “To Super Bowl and Beyond: Anti-Trafficking Efforts Surrounding Major Events.” Author of the book In Our Backyard and regional director of Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans, Belles works with law enforcement officials, attorneys general, government agencies and non-profit organizations to reduce the level of human trafficking that takes place during Super Bowls. Her team’s efforts have significantly increased anti-trafficking operations and awareness surrounding Super Bowls and other major sporting events. Anyone can help prevent sex trafficking by knowing the signs to look for, according to Hackett, who also is principal of Nix Conference & Meeting Management, a company that has taken a lead in the fight to end sex trafficking at hotels. “We want business travelers as well as law enforcement and social service agencies to know exactly how they can help,” said Hackett. “Sex trafficking is an issue few people know about, but all of us can learn how to spot the signs and take action.” Someone who suspects that a person may be a victim of sex trafficking should call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at (888) 373-7888, local law enforcement, or the U.S. Department of Justice trafficking hotline at (888) 428-7581. Exchange Initiative combats child sex trafficking in hotels by empowering individuals and organizations with information, networking and real resources. For more information, call Molly Hackett at (314) 645-6712 or visit www.ExchangeInitiative.com. Nix Conference & Meeting Management has led the charge among meeting planners worldwide to help end child sex trafficking in hotels. The company addresses the issue with management at every hotel where they do business. They also initiated and signed the first-ever Meeting Planners Code of Conduct with ECPAT-USA in 2012, and encourage their industry peers to do the same. Based in St. Louis, Nix manages meetings, conferences and trade shows for associations, religious organizations, businesses and nonprofits. Nix has managed events on four continents and in 17 countries since 1985. For more information on Nix, call (314) 645-1455 or visit www.nixassoc.com. # # #
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Source: TraffickCam News