WUNRN
Switzerland - Anti Trafficking &
Forced Prostitution Campaign to Greet
Euro 2008 Soccer Tournament Fans in
Switzerland
May 28, 2008
By Mark Ledsom
Fans at next month's Euro 2008
soccer tournament will be confronted with shocking images of human trafficking
in between more traditional adverts for beer, food and consumer goods.
The campaign aims to crack down on forced prostitution in
Campaigners
fighting for an end to trafficking and forced prostitution presented a graphic
60-second television advert this week showing bruised women being dragged by
the hair into a dark auction pit and sold into the sex trade.
The
advertisement concludes with a message that "hundreds of young women are
sold into the Swiss sex industry every year".
It will be
shown on Swiss television, at Switzerland's four Euro 2008 stadiums and at
public fan zones in Berne, Basel and Zurich.
Campaign
co-president Ruth Gaby-Vermot said: "Human trafficking is a terrible, grim
thing and that is what we wanted to get across with the images used in the
film.
"We
want to make sure that people look at the film, and that they think about what
they see and are made aware of the situation."
Fears were
raised in 2006 about an increase in human trafficking and forced prostitution
in the build-up to the World Cup in Germany. Studies later suggested
prostitution levels may in fact have decreased during the event.
Gaby-Vermot
said: "We have learned from what we saw in Germany and do not expect Euro
2008 to cause an increase in human trafficking or forced prostitution at the
event itself. But the tournament will attract millions of supporters, including
many men who might visit prostitutes in their home countries.
"So
it's an ideal target audience to show that forced prostitution is a reality and
that men can help tackle the problem."
Campaigners
said it was difficult to calculate the numbers of women forced into
prostitution since many were reluctant to testify against their abusers, while
others were deported without telling their story.
Gaby-Vermot
said rough estimates suggested the presence of up to 3000 women in Switzerland
who had been sold against their will and moved into prostitution.
REUTERS
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