4 September 2006

Dear Friends,

I last emailed you in June, when there was great concern that up to 40,000 young women could be trafficked into Germany from impoverished European and Asian countries to “service” World Cup soccer fans.

The good news is that many people contacted the German Embassy in Canberra – along with many others worldwide – and German Chancellor Angela Merkel got the message. Increased police activity, combined with a Christian leaflet campaign alerting soccer fans to the damage done to women by prostitution, resulted in a lower than expected sex market during the World Cup games.

We praise God for this result – but the underlying problem remains. It is legal to buy and sell women’s bodies in Germany and other parts of Europe and Australia. There are no penalties for pimping or procuring, so sex trafficking can flourish. One German woman was told her welfare payments could be cut off if she refused a brothel job.

Mrs Roslyn Phillips, B Sc Dip Ed

Research Officer, Festival of Light Australia

Website http://www.fol.org.au