CATW statement on Germany's World Cup

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CATW statement on Germany's World Cup

Postby sam » Wed May 03, 2006 8:01 am

I like how succinct the explanations of actions having consquences are, good stuff for writing publishable letters to the editor. -sam

STATEMENT OF THE COALITION AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN
Re: Official Promotion of Prostitution at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Games in Germany
May 1, 2006
info@catwinternational.org
Contact: Twiss Butler 703-548-0356

The process set in motion by the German government when it legalized prostitution has reached its inevitable outcome in that country's eager accommodation of pimps and traffickers during the 2006 FIFA World Cup events. The government of Germany and its leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, must bear shameful responsibility for the fact that, by legitimizing the mass sexual exploitation by men of the world’s most impoverished and marginalized women and girls, they are fostering the degradation, abuse, and inequality of all women.[1] As stated by a representative to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, “Trafficking in women for sexual purposes is a sex-specific crime and a serious barrier to sex equality in all societies.”[2]

Under the banner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup’s official slogan -- “A Time To Make Friends” -- we are told that “Individual service providers from Germany’s tourism and hospitality industry and the people of Germany will be demonstrating their hospitable and cosmopolitan outlook.” Tens of thousands of people from around the world are telling the German people and their government that their complicity in the sale of enslaved women to football fans is no way to make friends.

What such complicity does demonstrate to boys and men, however, is that they are entitled to buy subordinated women for sexual fun that is tantamount to rape[3]. This complicity also demonstrates that prostitution’s sexual objectification and stigmatization of the victim leads inexorably to sexual violence on the street, and in the home and other workplaces.

Finally, by rushing to expand its supply of brothels and the human merchandise to stock them, Germany’s official prostitution initiative demonstrates that jurisdictions that legalize prostitution are especially aggressive recruiters of young people to cater to demand by men for the prostituted sex that legalization promotes.[4]

Is all this harm justified by the tax revenues it produces for the German government? Or do government and FIFA officials fear a devastating drop in attendance if legions of ardent fans were to decide that World Cup football without the opportunity to rape a certified subordinated woman is not worth the trip?

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women stands with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in condemning the callous view of FIFA officials and the German government that trafficking in human beings is “a form of collateral damage that just has to be accepted.”[5]

We support the stated demands of this day’s call to action and urge all who reject the “collateral damage” view to unite with the tens of thousands of concerned individuals and organizations around the world who have joined CATW International’s campaign against sport/sex tourism and signed our online petition[6] telling the German government that “BUYING SEX IS NOT A SPORT: NO TO GERMANY’S PROSTITUTION OF WOMEN DURING THE WORLD CUP GAMES IN 2006.”


[1] Dorchen Leidholdt, Co-Executive Director, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW).
[2] Mr. Hancock, Debate on Trafficking Report, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, April 12, 2006.
[3] Sigma Huda, UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
[4] Norma Hotaling, Director, Standing Against Global Exploitation (SAGE).
[5] 2006 World Cup: PACE asks FIFA to join the fight against trafficking in women, Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe, April 13, 2006.
[6] See link at http://www.catwinternational.org
sam
chaotic good
 
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