  For several years the pervasive belief that the Super Bowl is the single
biggest day for human trafficking in the United States each year has been
perpetuated in popular press despite a lack of evidentiary support. The
practice of relying on hearsay and popular belief for decision-making may
result in misappropriation of resources in anti-trafficking efforts. We propose
a data-driven approach to analyzing sex trafficking, especially as it is
carried on during--and perhaps in response to--large public events such as the
Super Bowl. We examine 33 public events, chosen for attendance numbers
comparable to the Super Bowl from a diversity of types, and use the volume of
escort advertisements posted online as an accessible and reasonable proxy
measure for the actual levels of activity of sex-workers as well as trafficking
victims. Our analysis puts the impact of local public events on sex
advertisement activity into perspective. We find that many of the events we
considered are not correlated with statistically significant impact on
sex-worker advertising, though some are. Additionally, we demonstrate how our
method can uncover evidence of other events, not included in our initial list,
that are correlated with more significant increases in ad activity. Reliance on
quantitative evidence accessible through data-driven analysis can inform wise
resource allocation, guide good policies, and foster the most meaningful
impact.
