Super Bowl 2022 Arrests

Remember when we talked about the myth of increased sex trafficking around the Super Bowl? Well, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did precisely what we and many others thought they’d do: They arrested 214 people for allegedly selling sex — which, to be crystal clear, is not the same as charging people with human trafficking.

“Operation Reclaim and Rebuild” — these operations always have these messed up names that never align with what they’re really doing — saw LASD partnering with the FBI and conservative values group National Center on Sexual Exploitation to make arrests involving misdemeanor prostitution charges. So now over 200 workers have to deal with a criminal record, which does not rescue them from violence or poverty, but instead further stigmatizes and disenfranchises them.

By next year’s Super Bowl, maybe anti-trafficking orgs can build sustainable social services for both sex workers and those who are being trafficked instead of arresting them. Just a thought!