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This article is cross-posted from Huffington Post, read the original here.

Over the past few weeks a barrage of articles, blog posts, and conversations have been posted, recorded, and published about the Super Bowl and sex trafficking. Some say that the “Super Bowl  [is a]  hotbed for human trafficking” while others rebut, saying there’s no evidence to prove it. Regardless of this debate, one thing is certain: the Bay Area community is thinking and talking about human trafficking — and that’s a good thing.

It’s a good thing because we know that this evil exists, but it’s only a hum in the background — of our minds, our society — which we all ignore. We rationalize by saying, it’s not our children, our community, or our problem. Thankfully the Super Bowl has brought it to the forefront of our consciousness, and it can’t be ignored any longer.
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How many children should live in harm’s way?

We had to ask ourselves this very question last year as we undertook to create a five year Strategic Agenda. Our mission was, and will continue to be, to prevent child abuse and reduce its devastating impact, but it was finally time to determine a number we would hold ourselves accountable to in the coming years — will we leave behind 50 percent of San Francisco’s children, or 25, or 10.

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Vivian packed her belongings and two kids into the car and she left. She was done with him pushing her around. She’d had enough of the yelling, the threats, the slaps, and worse. Mostly, she was done telling her 8-year-old daughter Emma and 7-year-old son Ethan that everything was fine.

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This article is cross-posted from Olive Grove.

Maria was in second grade when her grandfather was arrested for forcing her to have sex with him almost daily in a bathroom at a neighborhood playground. After enduring months of abuse, she was brave enough to tell her teacher. Her teacher called child protective service and a social worker came to talk with Maria. She was then taken to the police station where she told her story again; then to the hospital where a doctor examined her and she told her story once more. Then, the district attorney interviewed her; then a therapist; then a case manager; the list continues. Maria told her story 10 times to 10 different adults. Each time, she was forced to re-live this real-life nightmare. Each time, Maria revealed less of her story, making it difficult to gather evidence needed to prosecute her grandfather.

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