ERLC, others decry sex trafficking for World Cup
- May 1, 2006
The ERLC is part of a diverse coalition of human trafficking opponents calling upon Germany to end plans for an expansion of its legalized sex industry during the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament.
As many as 40,000 women, most from eastern Europe, could be added to the 400,000 prostitutes in Germany for the month-long event that begins June 9 and will be held at 12 sites in the country. About three million fans, mostly males, are expected for the 32-team tournament, which is held every four years.
The German sex industry, reportedly with the compliance of the government, has constructed a mega-brothel and “sex huts” to meet the expected demand. Cities hosting matches also will provide special permits for prostitutes on the street, according to sex trafficking foes.
“The decision by the German authorities to accommodate their visitors’ demand for sexual servitude during the World Cup soccer championship is immoral and reprehensible,” said Barrett Duke, the ERLC’s vice president for public policy and research. “Their callous, calculated decision reveals a total disregard for the young girls and women whose lives are stolen from them.”
In addition to urging fans not to purchase sex, the 42-group coalition has called for: (1) German Chancellor Angela Merkel to act to stop the accommodation of sexual trafficking during the World Cup; (2) international leaders to criticize the German government’s exploitation of women from developing countries; (3) players and coaches participating in the World Cup to condemn Germany’s part in sex trafficking; (4) tournament sponsors to pull their advertising and financial sponsorship, and (5) the U.S. State Department to place Germany on Tier 3, the lowest level, in its next Trafficking in Persons report.
According to the coalition, already 75 percent of the legal prostitutes in Germany are from foreign countries, and 80 percent of those are from central or eastern Europe.
“It is our hope that the German authorities will recognize that this behavior does not represent the kind of global leadership that inspires confidence,” Duke said at a May 1 news conference. “If Chancellor Merkel wants the respect of the world community, she needs to move her country to behave like a respectable member of the community. Serving as the community pimp is not the way to gain that respectability.”
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