What words do you affiliate with the Super Bowl? Football? Excitement? Parties? Buffalo wings?

How about Slavery?

 It is a phenomenon perhaps better known by its more sterile, clinical partner “Human Trafficking”. To many of us, Slavery belongs in other countries –in continents like Africa or Asia and not in the Land of the Free.

 Besides, we all say, what has slavery got to do with anything I do anyways? Let alone the Super Bowl.

It’s because many prominent people,  like George Abbott believe the Super bowl to be the “largest known trafficking instance in the United States” 

Others, however, are not so sure about the truth behind the claim (http://deadspin.com/the-truth-about-the-nfl-the-super-bowl-and-sex-slaver-1511917053)

But we at US Democrazy are going to make the case that it’s important this story gets out, true or not. The Super Bowl is capable of bringing American attention to this tragedy that occurs everyday…but receives little attention. Let’s put some things straight for you:

 Human trafficking occurs when others (like pimps) benefit off the exploitation of others.  Sexual slavery, physical slavery, and child soldiers, are all forms of human trafficking. In a period of rapid globalization, physical and sexual slavery are even more accessible…which might explain why there are more slaves in the world today than ever before in history.

 Yikes.

There are at least 17,000 people being trafficking around the US at any given time. It is not isolated to Thai cities or Cambodian countrysides. It’s happening here.(http://www.rescueandrestoreky.org/what-is-human-trafficking/statistics/)The given age for this to start is 12-14 (http://www.rescueandrestoreky.org/what-is-human-trafficking/statistics/)Women and girls are raped 20+ days by clients. Raped, because, this isn’t prostitution. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/13/rani-hong-human-trafficking-victim_n_2460506.html)

Chances are, we are all probably benefitting indirectly from slavery and to illustrate this, there’s a cool game here (http://slaveryfootprint.org/)

 Is this not an issue we should be concerned about?

 In 2012, President Obama gave a speech about his war on Modern slavery. But we can promise you two things: it didn’t get the views of the State Address and nothing has happened (policy wise) to change any of the problems he out lined (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe_ud_5XTBs)

 Until the American public remains blind and apathetic towards human trafficking, policy-makers will also remained unenthused. Are we ready to change this?