Over the last decade, media coverage of the Super Bowl has linked it to the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation. Between 2010 and 2016, 76% of US print media stories reported a causal or correlative link between the Super Bowl and ‘sex trafficking’. However, local reporting on the 2018 Super Bowl, hosted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, differed dramatically. Nearly 70% of Minnesota’s print media stories presented a sceptical stance toward the fear around ‘Super Bowl sex trafficking’.
So, how did this shift in coverage occur in Minnesota?
How to host Super Bowls: anti-trafficking preparations and action research
In 2016, an Anti-Sex Trafficking Committee, comprised of more than 100 representatives from law enforcement, social services, business and civic sectors, convened to prepare Minneapolis for an anticipated increase in trafficking for sexual exploitation. Anti-trafficking stakeholders asked our research group at the University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) to examine the available evidence on major sporting events and ‘sex trafficking’ and to analyse US media coverage of past Super Bowls.
