As discussions of Super Bowl XLVIII began, talk of sex trafficking at major sporting events resurfaced, as it undoubtedly will do again before the Olympics and World Cup. While recent reports have failed to find any correlation between the Super Bowl and instances of sex trafficking in the host city, the dialogue the game ignites reminds us that the United States’ handling of sex trafficking, particularly as it pertains to prostitution, needs legal and societal reform.

The surge in prostitution arrests in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl is not demonstrative of any successes on the part of New York or New Jersey police department efforts. New York has passed multiple laws over the years supporting the notion that prostitutes should be treated as victims rather than criminals, including the implementation of a statewide court system tailored to the needs of victims. Yet the state has taken a disturbing number of steps back in policy. Bowing to growing pressure from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Cindy McCain and the unrelenting media attention, police forces have arrested over 30 percent more women so far this year than normal. The arrests made are a superficial solution to a problem that, based on reports by various nongovernmental organizations such as The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, does not quite exist.

Rather than continuing to implement policies that perpetuate a vicious cycle, law enforcement officials should redirect their focus toward rehabilitating the victims of prostitution. The Policy Institute for Family Impact Seminars, a nonpartisan research group, recommends that lawmakers fund efforts to investigate juvenile prostitution rings and provide training for authorities to better communicate with underage sex workers. The institute has also advised officers to increase penalties for the clientele, as well as enact legislation that would more firmly criminalize promoters of the practice. While punishment is suited for the largely illegal offense, it is misguided to charge the subject of the abuse instead of the practitioner.

Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals welcomed the introduction of specialized courts, saying that there is a need “to recognize that the vast majority of children and adults charged with prostitution offenses are commercially exploited or at risk of exploitation.” The specialized courts are a necessary first step, yet there remains much to be achieved. Regardless of how a particular court is structured, a victim of sex trafficking should not be made the defendant in our criminal justice system. More efforts should be spent bringing the perpetrators — not the victims — to our courts.