Nuns tackle World Cup prostitution

Polish sisters plan leafleting campaign against human trafficking ahead of global tournament
BY FREDDY GRAY
ANTICIPATING a sharp rise in sex trafficking before this summer's World Cup in Germany, Polish nuns have produced anti-prostitution leaflets to be handed out during the tournament.
The sisters were stung into action by reports of "mega brothels" being created near stadia across Germany where prostitution is legal to accommodate lusting football yobs.
"We're deeply concerned at reports that young men's lives are being made nicer by importing 100,000 young women from Europe's poorest countries," said Ursuline Sister Jolanta Olech,president of Poland's Conference of Superiors of Female Religious Orders.
Illegal sex trafficking is particularly prevalent in Germany because of the country's proximity to Eastem European nations, from where young girls are smuggled abroad and forced into the sex trade.
The Union of European Conferences of Major Superiors has allied on national organisations to campaign against prostitution during the World Cup.
Sister Jolanta said the campaign had the support of the official Catholic international charity Caritas and that the leaflets would be translated into Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian and other languages and would offer lists of telephone numbers for women who need help.
"We don't have contacts with those directly engaged in this trade," she said. "But theft are signs that the message is getting through. A woman who has a few seconds to memorise the number can get in touch with us, while those going for the work may think twice. But the leaflets should also affect the prostitutes' clients [because] they'll know some of these women have been forced into sex by criminals."
In February, international nongovernmental organisations joined forces with German Police to launch "Red Card for Forced Prostitution-, a campaign to stop sex slavery during the World Cup. Germany's National Council of Women said that football players would be asked to support the initiative.
The World Cup is the biggest spotting event in the world. Some three million fans are expected to visit the 12 German cities where the games will be played from June 9 to July 9.
German newspapers have reported on the construction of "sex huts", built specially for World Cup fans in Cologne and Dortmund. Cologne already has a giant 12storey brothel and in Berlin a "mega brothel" has recently opened. where more than 100 women sell their bodies for money.
However. Konrad Freiberg, President of the German Police Union, said that anti-trafficking measures had been taken to ensure there would be no increase in sex slavery because of the World Cup.
In 2005, the German government passed laws to increase the penalties for trafficking humans.
A recent report, prepared in part for an American conference on the sex trade, said: "Germany is generally viewed as one of the leading countries in combating human trafficking."
The document added that rumours of huge numbers of women being imported into Germany for the World Cup were wildly exaggerated. Some experts have said that levels of the illegal trafficking of sex workers may actually decrease during the World Cup because of heightened security and preventative measures.
Earlier this month, the bishops of England and Wales called on the Government to grant asylum to victims of sex trafficking.
The bishops said that existing legislation provided little or no assistance to women who have been forced into sex slavery "an offence to the dignity and integrity of human beings".