Do women and football mix?

With ecstatic moments of joy linked to sport-related victories come the moments of celebration: all those ‘hurrahs’ and hand clapping, the hilarity and cheers accompanied by the ‘pop’ sound of champagne bottles.

And the party doesn’t stop there. At least that is what the German authorities anticipated when they decided to create mobile brothels to satisfy the - mainly heterosexual - male’s sexual desires which are sure to arise during the next four and a half weeks.

While activists are currently raising their eyebrows and questioning such arrangements, little can be done to oppose such a decision: prostitution has been legal in Germany since 2002, and this new field of work (‘physical services’, perhaps?) provides employment for a non-negligible number of women, who benefit from the usual employment status though health benefits, insurance, pensions. Fewer people on the dole: can I see scandalised hands raised against such an advance? Does anyone object to legal measures permitting prostitutes to work in safer environments? Well, maybe the young waitress who turned down a job as a prostitute in Berlin and later faced possible cuts to her unemployment benefit would have something to say about it.

Any more objections?

Let’s not forget the large number of prostitutes, often illegally smuggled or kidnapped immigrants from Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa, who will provide the same services in the shadows.  While it is difficult to find precise data concerning their presence on the German soil, there is little doubt that they, too, will join the ranks of this booming spring industry.

One could say that there is nothing to be angry about. After all, a large number of condoms are being provided (100,000 according the main sources), and people are free to exercise their responsibilities… This is Germany’s generous protection for trafficked women.

Feminists might rightly point out the interesting imbalance in this story (did anyone mention male prostitutes being shipped to the World Cup yet? No?). Others will surely underline the fact that, after all, feminism is about choice. If women do choose to hold such a job without being pressured to do so, they should have the right to be considered as employees, without being judged arrogantly. But how many have a choice?

If the answer is 'not too many' then it is fair to say we're talking about degrading exploitation. The 2005 ‘Trafficking in persons’ report of the US department of State points out:

Field research from nine countries shows the great harm suffered by people used in prostitution: 89 percent of people being used in prostitution want to escape. Sixty to 75 percent of women in prostitution have been raped, 70 to 95 percent have been physically assaulted.

 Market demand creates a strong profit incentive for traffickers to entrap more victims, and the World Cup sex trafficking is achieving just that. But if you regard prostitution as a service to be fiercely defended, maybe you’ll enjoy the pro-prostitution blog.