Sex Trafficking in South Africa for the World Cup
From Change.org:
World Cup fever is everywhere, bringing hundreds of thousands of people from around the world to South Africa.
But not all of those people are tourists.
As many as 20,000 women have been trafficked into forced prostitution for the 2010 games in preparation for the influx of visitors. Some of these women entered South Africa on the promise of regular jobs, and upon arrival were drugged and held in private homes in preparation for “customers.”
It’s the tragic reality of a world in which millions of women are still treated as commodities to be bought, sold, and exploited at will.
Human rights activists on the ground are doing everything they can to fight back. An anti-trafficking hotline has been launched, where people can call for help on human trafficking-related issues as well as report suspicious activity. And in an effort to prevent the trafficking of South African children - most of whom are on a month-long holiday from school during the tournament - neighbors and churches have opened their doors to provide safe haven through the 2010 Our Children Campaign.
There is much to admire about the World Cup, which is in many ways a peaceful demonstration that our similarities as people are more important than our differences.
But as we celebrate goals, we should also take the chance to celebrate our common humanity by dedicating ourselves to fight for freedom as hard as we fight for victory.
