IOM South Africa Launches a Campaign Against Human Trafficking Prior to FIFA World Cup 2010IOM South African division just launched the anti-human trafficking campaign prior to FIFA World Cup scheduled to be held in June 2010. A Campaign Designed to Drop Sales created a bright yellow poster with a hotline number to report human trafficking incidents. IOM aims to raise the awareness of human trafficking among South Africans before the flood of pimps and traffickers officially launch their business to target sports fans during the World Cup season.
The unprepared government and the importance of the awareness raising effort
According to the Campaign's Fickr page, there are more than 4 million people disappearing annually all over the world. According to Global human trafficking news roundup data gathered for the past few months, women and children all over the African countries are either trafficked or migrating into South Africa prior for World Cup season. However, the legislation to combat human trafficking is only on a pending stage, which limits law enforcement officials from cracking down on human traffickers and pimps during the World Cup. Hence, IOM's such campaign against human trafficking becomes more vital to South Africa than anything else. The same fickr page further states IOM's position on the campaign as follows:
There is currently a strong partnership between the Government of South Africa, civil society, and local communities to take action against human trafficking. IOM applauds TBWA for its support to these efforts through a creative campaign that opened the eyes of community populations and school children, and urged them to see the truth when offered dubious opportunities that promise a better and easier life.
A mega sports event remains as a magnet for sex industry
According to a sex industry survivor and the founder of the organization, BeautyfromAshes, Julie Shematz says that people working in sex industry look forward to mega sports events as the events become the opportunities to generate high profits. Whether one works for herself or pimps on someone else, she or he knows that one can profit a lot by targeting sports fans who are drunk and sexually charged. A Sex workers coalition once were furious that the number of trafficking victims estimated prior to the mega sports games have been exaggerated and only creates unreasonable fear among the public. But, the fact that the news report constantly alarms public of different trafficking incidents involving South Africa shows that the awareness raising effort shows that the country is not immune to human trafficking. Further, everyone knows it's true. If sex workers can make profit from the event, so do the traffickers and the pimps.
Source: Norfolk Human Rights Examiner
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ReplyDeleteShortly after this story went online the writer was pressured into removing the last paragraph. Apparently, pro-prostitution groups seem to have a strong political presence in South Africa. The writer was accused of taking sex trafficking, sex industry, and world cup out of the context. We think she did good job tying them accurately together, since they are all interlinked.
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