World Cup Has Small Impact on Sex Trade

With the World Cup set to end this weekend, many employed in Germany's legal sex trade report that the expected increase in business was far less than expected as fans seemed to have soccer on their minds more than sex.

German news service Deutsch Welle reports that:

Criticized for not taking the problem of sex trade trafficking seriously enough, a new report shows there has been no marked increase in human trafficking related to the sex trade during the World Cup.

The predictions that as many as 40,000 women would be forced to work as prostitutes during the World Cup did not materialize, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Swedish development agency Sida.

"We have so far not seen any marked increase in human trafficking from eastern European countries to Germany during the World Cup," Swedish IOM spokesman Fredric Larsson told the AFP news agency.

German police confirmed that prostitution, which has been legal in Germany since 2002, did not rise considerably during the month-long soccer tournament.

"Before the World Cup there were rumors circulating about a large rush of prostitutes," Cologne city spokesman Jürgen Müllenberg said. "But neither legal nor illegal prostitution has significantly risen."

Additionally, Chinese-English news service Muzi.com reports that:

The foyer in Berlin's biggest brothel sports beer flagons shaped like soccer balls and its big screen theater showed live World Cup matches--but for all the anticipation, the tournament has not led to the huge spike in business the German sex industry had hoped for.

The news may come as a relief for those who fretted increased demand could lead to more trafficking of women forced into prostitution--and it hasn't been received all that badly at the brothels either.

Artemis, which opened in September near Berlin's Olympic stadium with an eye on World Cup business, had been expecting as many as 500 customers per day. The actual number of men has been about half that. Still, the business has been steady and--more importantly--none of the fears of soccer hooligans descending upon them has come to pass either.

"We're really happy," said manager Vanessa, who would only give her first name. "There was no stress here--all soft and easy, thank God--though it's not over yet."