\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPittsburgh sits at the center of the football universe for the 2026 NFL draft, an event that is expected to draw the largest gathering of visitors in the city\u2019s history.As the draft approaches, nonprofit organizations are warning the public that manipulators use big events like this for sex trafficking.Dr. Mary Burke said the draft is a tremendous moment for the Pittsburgh region. She also says predators in the sex trafficking trade will use the event to exploit and sell the people they control for profit.”When I think about the NFL draft coming to Pittsburgh, what comes to mind is that this is a great opportunity for our city in many ways,” Burke said. “But there are going to be a lot of people here, and that means there will be an increased demand for commercial sex.”A professor of psychology at Carlow University, Burke partners with nonprofit groups that fight human trafficking. She said people used for sex trafficking are already broken and vulnerable.”Domestic violence through physical, emotional or sexual abuse already. It could be people who are unhoused. We\u2019re talking about individuals who are already having a hard time, and who might become susceptible to the exploitation of traffickers, and I worry about their conditions worsening,” Burke said.An estimated 700,000 people are expected to pack the North Shore, Point State Park and other areas of downtown Pittsburgh during the draft.”I want the public to know that they need to be on the lookout, because sex trafficking will be occurring here during that time,” Burke said. “The influx of people that will be here for that event is significant. It\u2019s a lot of people. We know that, and we need to be on the lookout.”During a workshop at Eden’s Farm, Annalisa Gibbs said, “Large-scale events don\u2019t cause trafficking, but they increase the conditions in which exploitation can happen, increasing these conditions where there’s partying, where you honestly can order pizza and sex within the same five minutes.”Eden\u2019s Farm is a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to support survivors of sex trafficking. Gibbs, the group’s founder, explains how predators take advantage of events like the NFL draft to exploit others for sex trafficking.”Whenever there is an influx or an increase in population into an area, that there is also an increase in vulnerabilities and an increase in opportunities for exploitation,” Gibbs said.”People are purchasing bodies for their own benefit. … They\u2019re robbed of relationships and families, of their homes, of their freedom to choose.”Eden\u2019s Farm held three workshops ahead of the draft to alert the public about how predators will take advantage of the event to push sex trafficking. Parents, healthcare and social services professionals, community members and educators attended workshops.”Do you think the general public is aware of how widespread it is?” Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Sheldon Ingram asked.”No, not at all,” Gibbs said. “It happens way more than we think.”Eden\u2019s Farm says its mission is to build advocacy and awareness, provide direct services such as case management for survivors and build economic empowerment through an apprenticeship and workforce program.Handmade items are for sale in the lobby, all of them made by sex trafficking survivors.”To feel a sense of belonging, that there is a support and a community of people here that care for them, that want to see what their future could look like,” Gibbs said.Agencies such as Pittsburgh Regional Transit and PennDOT say they also train employees regularly to notice and report sex trafficking.Another nonprofit organization will put up a billboard to warn the public about sex trafficking during the draft.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tPITTSBURGH \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n