WUNRN
Ukraine - Prostitutes 'Hidden' on Euro
Banknotes as Part of Sex Trade Campaign
Altered
Euro banknotes embellished with images of prostitutes are being used to
discourage Ukrainian women from getting caught up in the sex trade.
By Matthew Moore
09 October 2008
The images, which
are otherwise almost indistinguishable from the genuine notes, have been
produced as part of a campaign to prevent women from the former Soviet state
from seeking to work illegally in the EU.
They show underdressed women –
obviously prostitutes – leaning against the grand examples of European
architecture that have been printed on the currency's bills since its launch in
2002.
Messages warning about the real
price of seeking black market employment abroad are printed across the top of
the “fake” notes.
Sex trafficking is a serious
problem in the Ukraine. Last year the International Organization for Migration
estimated that 117,000 Ukrainians had been forced into prostitution or
indentured labour abroad since 1991, more than any other Eastern European
country.
Women who are trafficked abroad
illegally are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, with the criminal gangs
who arrange their transport often refusing to return their passports.
Prostitution is widespread in the
Ukraine, which is home to more than 12,000 sex workers. The rise of sex
tourism, fuelled by wealthy visitors from the US and the EU, sparked
demonstrations from students in the capital Kiev this summer.
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