Turning Global Glare of World Cup into Spotlight On Sex Buyers Fueling Multi-Billion Dollar Sex Trade 

(TRENTON, NJ) – Today, Rights4Girls launched a billboard on the New Jersey Turnpike as part of a national campaign to shine a bright light on the buyers fueling the multi-billion dollar illicit sex trade. The timing is to coincide with the World Cup coming to the Garden State – along with festivities in neighboring New York City and Philadelphia. Additional billboards are up in Atlanta, Dallas, Boston and Kansas City.

“Buying sex is far from a victimless crime,” said Yasmin Vafa, Executive Director of Rights4Girls. “Of course, major occasions like the FIFA World Cup bring a lot of fun and entertainment to cities, but they also attract hundreds of thousands of out-of-town and even global visitors seeking to buy marginalized women and girls for sex. This is a disturbing issue year-round, but can take place in a particularly concentrated way during big ticket events like the World Cup, Super Bowl or All-Star Games. It’s crucial for people to realize that in the shadows of all the celebration, there can be a dark underbelly of trafficking and exploitation. Far too often, society focuses on the traffickers or victims, but rarely takes into account the third party in the transaction, which is the sex buyer. So, we are turning the global glare of the World Cup into a spotlight on those driving this harmful industry.  But, to be clear, trafficking doesn’t simply disappear once the final whistle blows and the tournament ends.”

The billboard will rotate through a series of soccer-themed messages, including:

** “Buying Sex? Get An Automatic Red”

** “Buying Sex Will Draw A Penalty”

** “Buying Sex Will Get You Benched”

** “Blow The Whistle On Sex Buying”

“Human trafficking is a hidden crime that thrives in the shadows, and large-scale events can create conditions that traffickers seek to exploit,” said Acting New Jersey State Police Superintendent Jeanne Hengemuhl. “That’s why vigilance, awareness and strong partnerships among law enforcement, community organizations and the public are critical to identifying victims, disrupting criminal networks and ensuring the safety and dignity of every person in our communities.  We remain committed to combatting human trafficking and protecting those who are most vulnerable.”

“Sex buying is not a victimless action; it is the embodiment of sexual violence, the entitlement of sex buyers to reduce our bodies to disposable commodities and the normalization of exploitation in our communities,” said Cristian Eduardo, Survivor & Chair of U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. “Sex buyers must be stopped and held accountable, and as a Survivor I am proud to say that it starts in New Jersey today.

“As a survivor who was once arrested during a major sporting event while the people exploiting me walked free, I know first-hand how easily victims can be misunderstood, overlooked and punished instead of protected,” said Gina Cavallo, Survivor Leader and Vice-President of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking. “What often goes unseen is that exploitation exists because there are people willing to purchase another human being. Buyers are not separate from the problem, but rather a driving force behind it. As we welcome visitors from around the world for the World Cup, we must also recognize our shared responsibility to protect vulnerable individuals and hold accountable those who fuel exploitation through demand.  Human trafficking does not begin with a sporting event, but events of this scale can create opportunities for exploitation to thrive in plain sight if communities are not vigilant.”

Right4Girls’ World Cup campaign comes on the heels of other billboards over the past year that the organization put up surrounding the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Daytona 500, Kentucky Derby, MLB All-Star Game, and in over a dozen cities hosting the March Madness NCAA Tournament – including Newark in 2025.

While patronizing sex transpires every day in big cities and small towns all across America, it can happen in more concentrated ways around major sporting events. When large numbers of men with disposable income flock to any one place, the obvious can happen. That’s why the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a formal notice on the trafficking threat posed by the World Cup, putting banks and financial institutions on alert. A spike in tourism creates an environment in which sex tourism could thrive. Increased hotel bookings, parties and an influx of people make it far easier for traffickers and sex buyers to operate in the shadows.

Recent history and data bears this out:

** Last year, 8 sex trafficking victims were recovered during the 2025 NCAA Final Four Basketball Championships in San Antonio.

** In 2023, Phoenix police reported agencies making approximately 50 felony arrests during Super Bowl LVI’s sex trafficking crackdown. At least 14 incidents were men attempting to have sex with minors.  Moreover, there were 120 misdemeanor arrests of “sex buyers.” Arizona State researchers also found a 30% increase in online ads for prostitution in the weeks before the big game – with 21 ads involving minors.

**  In 2019, 169 people were arrested in the ramp-up to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta – including 26 traffickers and 34 men trying to engage in sex with a minor.  9 human trafficking victims were identified, and 9 child sex trafficking victims were recovered, with the youngest being only 14 years-old.

**  In 2019, during the Final Four weekend in Minneapolis, 47 men were arrested for felony solicitation of a minor and 11 more for sex trafficking/promotion of prostitution.  Over that same weekend, 28 people – including a minor – were rescued from trafficking situations.

Last year, Rights4Girls released a groundbreaking new report, “Buyers Unmasked: Exposing the Men Who Buy Sex & Solutions to End Exploitation” – which focuses on the men who buy sexual acts and highlights the devastating harm they cause marginalized women and girls in all our communities. The full paper can be read at: www.Rights4Girls.org/BuyersUnmasked.

For more information on this billboard campaign, please visit www.Rights4Girls.org/worldcup.

About Rights4Girls:  Rights4Girls is a national human rights organization that advocates for the rights of young women and girls so that every girl can be safe and live a life free of violence and exploitation. It works to change the narrative and policies that allow girls to be criminalized when they survive violence and advocates for approaches that provide girls and young women with safety, justice and support. For more information: rights4girls.org.