‘World Cup human trafficking fears exaggerated’

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By Own Correspondent
Thursday 27 May 2010

JOHANNESBURG – Fears of increased human trafficking for the FIFA World Cup are gross exaggerations by some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) hoping to raise extra resources, South African sex work researchers said this week.

The South African media has during the build up to the World Cup, which kicks off in the country on June 11, been awash with stories of an expected surge in sex workers, including Zimbabweans fleeing economic hardships, converging into the country to make money from the hundreds of thousands of soccer fans and tourists following their teams during the month-long tournament.

Some of the reports put the figure of expected sex workers being trafficked into the country from around the globe – particularly from Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa – for the tournament at about 40 000.

"I suspect very little of it is done maliciously. The World Cup provides the opportunity to raise awareness of levels of violence in South Africa, specifically on women and children. I don't think that makes it right to perpetuate myths and unsubstantiated claims,” Marlize Richter, a researcher from the University of the Witwatersrand said at a discussion hosted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Cape Town.

"I think there is an element of resources in the NGO world and if you can show there is a big threat and that your organisation can provide for it, then it is in your interests to perhaps spice things up. I'm not thinking it is a conspiracy theory or someone out there is trying to make money for profit. But I do think there is a sense of getting resources while you can tagging on to the World Cup."

ISS researcher Chandre Gould, author of Sex Work and Human Trafficking in a South African City – a book on sex work in Cape Town – said she had encountered very few cases of human trafficking in her investigation, adding that the widely reported figure of 40 000 sex workers was entirely false.

"That number of 40 000 has no basis in fact. In the World Cup in Germany and the Olympics in Athens no increase in trafficking was found. There is no reason to believe South Africa will be any different from Germany or Athens. So we are not anticipating that we will see a dramatic change in circumstances."

She said very little research had been done on human trafficking and she had in Cape Town found only a handful of cases of women who had been trafficked.

"We determined a point-in-time estimate of the number of sex workers – 964 in brothels and 245 on the street – a total of 1 209. This means that 0.03 percent of the population of Cape Town works in the industry,” she said.

Zimbabweans, including women – some of whom have no skills for formal employment – continue to flee their country into neighbouring countries, with South Africa the destination of choice, to escape poverty and economic hardships at home.

Some of the women have turned to sex work to supplement their meagre earnings from odd jobs they do to earn a living and support their families back home. – ZimOnline

ZimOnline - Zimbabwe's Independent News Agency