| "An international campaign aimed at preventing trafficking in persons during next month's football World Cup in South Africa was launched last week in Italy, Brazil, Botswana and South Africa. The campaign, which is initiated by Talitha Kum, an international network of religious sisters from 19 different congregations, is backed by IOM and the International Union of Superiors General (UISG by its Italian acronym). As part of the campaign, Public Service Announcements will be broadcast on radio and TV channels and flyers featuring IOM's Helpline number 0800555999, will be distributed in high visibility areas and transport hubs such as bus stations and at the Johannesburg international airport. Participants will also seek to address community leaders to enlist their support in raising awareness among football supporters in partnership with the Southern African Catholic Bishop's Conference (SACBC). "While there is no empirical evidence linking an increase of trafficking in persons to such events, the Talitha Kum campaign aims to take advantage of the momentum built around the World Cup to increase awareness of trafficking and the need for adequate protection mechanisms," says IOM's Stefano Volpicelli. IOM's work in South Africa aims to address such gaps, particularly as they relate to the most vulnerable, specifically women between the ages of 16-30 who come from broken homes, single parents, the unemployed and destitute, including men who are trafficked for forced labour. "Talitha Kum will allow for coordinated prevention activities and the creation of necessary linkages between religious personnel, community leaders and the public at large," says Stefano Volpicelli. Since 2004, IOM and UISG, with funding from the US Department of State – Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), have provided training on prevention and assistance to victims of human trafficking to more than 500 religious personnel in 48 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. An IOM study on human trafficking and the 2006 World Cup in Germany found inconclusive evidence of an increase in trafficking for sexual exploitation. It recommended that future event organizers and host cities widen the scope of counter-trafficking activities to include forced labour, particularly within the construction industry, criminal activities and begging, and advocate more strongly for adequate reporting by the media on the true nature and scope of human trafficking. "
Source: http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/media/press-briefing-notes/pbnEU/cache/offonce?entryId=27388 | 
I researched this issue further, because it intrigued me that the world cup is a cause for concern with human trafficking. But it makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ngopulse.org/article/human-trafficking-and-2010-fifa-world-cup
The article I found on this talked about how South Africa was pushing to legalized prostitution before 2010 for this very reason. It didn't happen, but the thinking was that if prostitution were legal during the world cup, then prostitutes' rights would be protected as legal workers.
My opinion is that this couldn't be further from the truth. Countries that have legalized prostitution have experienced such an increase in human trafficking and other related criminal activity that they are now reconsidering their decisions. Netherlands is one great example. Legalizing prostitution opens the flood gates for traffickers to bring fresh victims into the market. And in the case of South Africa, the police force is so corrupt, that legalizing prostitution would only lead to more bribing of officers to let human trafficking take place in greater numbers.
Making prostitution legal is also the equivalent of saying "it's ok for women's bodies to be for sale," which perpetuates the idea that women should be available to men for sex. Yes, I have an extreme stance, but given the freedom to really choose from all the options in life, I don't believe anyone would choose sex work. To me, it's all exploitation.