INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis is preparing for the NCAA Men's Final Four weekend.
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Construction is underway at the American Legion Mall, the space that will be transformed for the March Madness Music Festival.
Big names like Post Malone and Twenty One Pilots are coming to the Circle City.
Along with music, the Final Four weekend is packed with parties, art, and of course, basketball.
“Have fun, but realize when there are people in danger. There’s things that you can do," Beth White with the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault said.
Human trafficking happens year-round, but large-scale events create an increased risk.
“People think buying sex is another thing that would be fun to do. I’m here to tell you that it is not fun. There is always another person, another group of people on the other side of that problem. They’re almost always exploited," White said.
White says it can be hard to track numbers and statistics for these crimes.
“The victims don’t come forward. They’re very fearful. They fear coming forward. They fear their traffickers finding out. There’s a lot of risk. So we don’t see a lot of prosecutions," she said.
Increased hotel bookings, parties and an influx of people make it easier for traffickers to operate under the radar.
“Anytime that large numbers of tourists, and especially men with disposable income, descend on any one large city, in conjunction with big events that come with fun, celebration, festivities, often times that can lead to an increase in demand for commercial sex," Executive Director of Rights4Girls Yasmin Vafa said.
This year, Rights4Girls launched a campaign called “Sex buying isn’t a game” to shed light on sex tourism.
Vafa says it’s important to recognize the damage sex buyers cause.
“This is a supply and demand-driven industry. If there were no buyers, there’d be no business. Traffickers are merely responding to the profit motive that is created by the sex buyers," she said.
IMPD says human trafficking is not always an obvious crime. If you suspect possible human trafficking, there are resources, support and help available.
If you or someone you know is in an emergency situation, contact 911.
To request help or to report, the IMPD Human Trafficking Unit can be reached at 317-327-3542.
You can also contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline 24/7 at 1-888-373-7888.
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Nico Pennisi is the In Your Community reporter for Downtown Indy. He joined WRTV in October 2022. His passion has always been telling the stories of people who often get overlooked. Share your story ideas and important issues with Nico by emailing him at nico.pennisi@wrtv.com.
