International Women’s Day 2006 - Prostitution is not a game

Prostitution is not a game:  Football World Cup in Germany 2006

 

EWL calls on all men, organisers, footballers and fans, to take a stand against the sexual exploitation of women in prostitution

 

News reports predict that the World Cup will herald the arrival in Germany of thousands of women who will be used in prostitution by the men who will have gathered in Germany to enjoy the football games. A large proportion of these women will have been trafficked into Germany by criminal gangs expressly for the purpose of sexual exploitation in prostitution.

 

Take a moment to look beyond the tame language of the legal “sex entrepreneurs” in Germany, who claim to organise hygienic and secure brothels, and the reality is far less attractive. For traffickers and pimps prostitution means big profits and impunity, for prostitute users it means buying control over a woman’s body, for the women involved, it means ongoing exposure to violence, sexual abuse and rape.

 

“Prostitution is not a game, it is in fact the oldest crime in history and a violation of women’s human rights. During the World Cup every man must ask himself why he, or why other men, believe that they have the right to exploit the body of a woman, another human being, in this way. Each man’s  individual decision to buy access to a woman in prostitution fuels the demand for women in prostitution and the ruthless criminal gangs  involved in  trafficking ensure the ongoing supply. ” stated Mary Mc Phail, Secretary General of EWL.

 

Survivors of prostitution stated in their Manifesto of October 17th that “women in prostitution want a life free from oppression, a life that is safe, and a life where we can participate as citizens where we can exercise our rights as human beings and not as sex workers.[1] And yet across the European Union so few resources are dedicated to supporting victims of prostitution and trafficking to make a new life for themselves.

 

“Despite the mobilisation of German women’s organisation, in particular the German Women’s Council and its request for the German national team and the German Football Federation to publicly denounce trafficking and sexual exploitation, authorities have not yet taken any measure to prevent the abuse of women on a large scale during the World Cup. The football community (players, organisers, the FIFA) has so far completely ignored the issue. With 3 months to go before this big event, EWL is asking the actors involved to take a public stand against the sexual exploitation of women in prostitution" stated Kirsti Kolthoff, President of the European Women’s Lobby.

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 (1). Survivors Manifesto, Joint CATW-EWL Press Conference,Brussels, 17/10/05,