The World Cup: Not Everyone's a Winner

June 7, 2006 by Michael Jaskiw

This Friday, the first matches of the long-anticipated World Cup begin in Germany. Even in the US, where soccer generally takes a backseat to other team sports, the hype for the tournament has been considerable. The World Cup is touted as more than just a sporting event--it's a cause (as one set of commercials suggests using the example of the Ivory Coast) that can stop violence and bring a country together if only for a brief moment.

The World Cup is certainly more than a sporting event in that it has an incredible ability to mobilize people and nations once every four years. The problem is that this mobilization has an often ignored dark side. As an estimated 3.5 million fans, most male, make their way to Germany, another group of people will cross Germany's borders: prostitutes.

Germany legalized prostitution in 2002--the practice goes on in designated brothels that can be monitored and kept safe by the government. The problem is that upwards of 40,000 women will be brought into the country to meet the sharp increase in demand for such services. Two very serious concerns emerge. First, many of these women are brought to Germany against their will. Most of the would-be prostitutes come from Eastern and Central Europe--many are told that they are leaving their homes to work as waitresses or maids only to find later that the job demanded of them is considerably different. Second, Germany cannot adequately ensure the saftey of the women once they arrive. Managing prostitution during usual circumstances is one thing; doing so with thousands more prostitutes and tens of thousands more customers is another.

Perhaps the most alarming fact is the German government's facilitation and accomodation of the troublesome increase in prostitution. A huge temporary brothel has been built in Berlin filled with huts euphemized as "performance boxes". The most vocal opponents to this tacit endorsement have been religious groups, like the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. These groups, which have sent petitions and letters to the German government, do not seem to have changed the government's stance on the issue.

Perhaps the greatest tradegy would be relegating Germany's actions exlusively into the age-old debate about the legitimacy of prostitution. The real problem is not prostitution per se--the issue is human trafficking and the safety of thousands of women. The question of whether or not a consenting adult may exchange sex for money is entirely secondary. The US State Department, in its yearly report on human trafficking issued a warning to Germany and noted, "Due to the sheer size of the event, the potential for human trafficking surrounding the games remains a concern."

The State Department did not, however, place Germany on a short list of countries with serious human trafficking problems. Though probably in part political, the decision not to include Germany on the list may have been warranted--the World Cup presents a one time problem for a country that otherwise is careful to punish and prevent trafficking. But the transitory nature of the World Cup is an explanation for the lack of action to prevent trafficking, not an excuse. The tournament is a time of great excitement in countries all over the world--no one, the US included, wants to dampen this excitement by publicizing and tackling the problem of trafficking. But until the issue is addressed, the World Cup will continue to leave an unacceptable human cost in its wake.