What Happens in Vegas Matters.
The catch-phrase “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” has become the mantra of people wanting a permission slip to behave badly and not be held accountable for that behavior. It is especially popular among men. They love the idea that there is a place where they can enjoy themselves in ways they otherwise wouldn’t, and never have to answer for it. They can drink or drug “too much”, gamble “too much”, eat and party “too much”, and engage in illicit sex “too much”. On the one hand, no one cares, as long as no one gets hurt. It’s your life, do what you want. On the other hand, if your personal indulgence and choice involves another person who is forced to “service” you, and who does not have a choice, or who does get hurt in the process; we have a serious problem. At that point, the mantra only serves to cover up the abuse of someone, and totally erodes trust and justice in our society.
Sex trafficking is rampant in the U.S. and is destroying many lives under the guise of ‘sexual entertainment’, and it is the face of this problem. In Las Vegas they say; “boys will be boys”, and men get away with some terrible behaviors; especially during big sporting events. Men with “too much” time, money, opportunity, and a free pass on secrecy, tend to do some pretty shameful things.
Super Bowl 58 was played in Las Vegas this year, and being one of the biggest sporting events in North America, it was the perfect opportunity for men to get out of town to an exciting place, away from their families, and do whatever they want with impunity. Every year thousands of women and girls are sexually trafficked at or around the Super Bowl event because it provides such a huge opportunity for so many men. Even though law enforcement agencies and many nonprofits are working hard to prevent sex trafficking from happening at these events, it is impossible to monitor the activities of 100,000 people flooding arenas, hotels and bars during such an event all at the same time. Traffickers know this, and take full advantage of the anonymity and distraction of large crowds, and sell people for sex like they were selling delivery pizzas.
We know, because we hear the stories, first hand, from the women who were the sexual commodities at events like this. These stories break our hearts. The recounting of their abuse is often too difficult to bear, and this gives us reason to do all that we can to protect them; and reason to speak out about such things. We want to change the status quo among men. We want sporting events, and all special occasions, to be safe places of fun and celebration for everyone involved; because… “What happens in Vegas matters.”
Join us as a financial partner in restoring the lives of formerly trafficked women and be part of the compassionate solution to sex trafficking, not the perpetrator or by-stander of it.