Super Bowl 52: The Takeaway No One's Talking About
Super Bowl 52 is now a few weeks old, but will still prove to be one of the largest sporting events in North America in the current year. And it was a fun time. Philadelphia Eagles defeated the favourites, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, in a thrilling series of events and a very close game.
But I don't want to waste your time, since you may have guessed I'm not about to discuss the thrilling events of the game itself. So I'll jump right into it.
Did you know that each year's Super Bowl is "commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States?" (psychologytoday.com). Though this may not necessarily be the case, it is clear that human trafficking is still alive and well in the world today.
Yes, slavery is still prominent on the world stage in 2018. Not only that, but it's prominent in the United States in 2018. Specifically sex trafficking. Many people still don't understand this, but I'll throw out some statistics to help you understand how real this issue is.
During the time of the Super Bowl last year, over 750 people were arrested as suspects in Super Bowl sex-trafficking stings. This included both pimps and people purchasing illicit sex. As a result of this three-week police operation, six minors and 86 adults were rescued from sexual slavery (reuters.com). The event of the Super Bowl itself has proven to be a time where sex-trafficking spikes in the U.S., and as a result multiple police operations occur during this time in attempts to seize as many sex-traffickers as possible.
The sad thing is the lack of awareness to this topic. I wrote this article is here to make you aware of the issue, not to fully educate you on all of the specifics. So if you've read this far, thank you, and here are a couple of things you can do to help:
DO YOUR RESEARCH. Use the beautiful tool we have at our fingertips called the internet. Research human trafficking, as well as it's widespread effects in North America. Defend Dignity is a great example of a group that is working to help end sexual exploitation (in Canada, but do your research and you'll find many groups in the U.S. working towards this end goal as well. Supporting groups like this, whether monetarily or through simply liking their social media pages, can help increase their reach and make more people aware of this issue.
(OBVIOUSLY) UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A VERY REAL ISSUE.
FIND OUT WHAT PART YOU CAN PLAY IN RAISING AWARENESS. This stems out of doing your research. Share posts on social media, whether it's here on steemit, Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere. Use whatever reach you have, wherever you find yourself in life, to make this issue known. If enough people understand that human trafficking is a real issue, and actually want to do something to stop it, we can actually help bring human trafficking to an end.
TAKE THE INITIATIVE. Do something. Don't expect that everyone else is going to do this, so you don't have to, because chances are everyone else is thinking the exact same thing. So do your research. Like/follow/subscribe to any social media pages/groups that are working hard to bring human trafficking to its knees. To be clear, my steemit account is not going to revolve around this topic specifically.
DON'T ENGAGE IN ILLICIT SEXUAL ACTIVITY. The higher the demand, the more pressure there will be to create the supply. Whether it's literally buying sex, watching pornography, or anything in between, I'll put it in simple terms: DO NOT DO IT. Though that can be easier said then done, if you do these things, you are creating the demand for human trafficking. Don't believe me? Do your research.
How about we stop being part of the problem, and work to be part of the solution.
If you've read this far, thanks so much. Now go do it (virtual fist bump).
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/modern-day-slavery/201702/the-super-bowl-and-sex-trafficking
https://www.theroot.com/sex-trafficking-and-the-super-bowl-there-s-more-at-pla-1822599130