According to the International Justice Mission, between 600,000 and 800,000 people are victimized by human trafficking every year.

Inspired by this information, OU student congress will be hosting Not for Sale, an event to raise awareness of sex trafficking and to inform students how they can help put an end to it.

The event will be held Tuesday, Feb. 15 from 2- 3:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Gold Room B of the Oakland Center.

OUSC Legislative Affairs Director Benjamin Eveslage, a freshman, is organizing the event.

“It’s raising awareness so it has more of an educational base at the beginning. Towards the end of the event we are going to try to invoke a sense of inspiration in the students and attendees to make a difference in the arena of sex trafficking,” Eveslage said.

Part of the goal of the event is making students aware  that sex trafficking is happening closer than in third world countries on the other side of the earth.

“Many people don’t know that it is an issue or that it even exists,” Eveslage said. “Many people identify it with Cambodia or Eastern Asia, but it is surprising to note there are many cases within the United States and Michigan occurring.”

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Michigan ranks 13th in the country for the number of sex traffic victims.

“We hope to raise awareness of sex trafficking as a generally international issue but also as a domestic issue as well.” Eveslage said.

A few speakers will be presenting at the event. Professor Katrina Kubicek of California State University will speak. Kubicek teaches a class at  California State on sex trafficking. According to IJM, the trafficking of humans is a $12 billion industry worldwide.

“This is something that is very well hidden,” Eveslage said. “It has been progressing so much because of that. The reason sex trafficking continues to spread is because the people that are involved in it are ashamed. They don’t talk about it. That makes it a sheltered issue.”

The event is meant to inspire awareness and activism among students and other attendees for an issue that normally does not get very much attention.

“An issue like this, the second largest criminal industry in the world, it’s good to be able to target that,” Eveslage said.

Eveslage said that he hopes Not for Sale will have a deeper effect on students than the typical  one-day on-campus event.

“It’s not just going to be food and walk away.,” Eveslage said. “I want people to walk away inspired. That way we can do something together to make a difference.”