An estimated 400 000 prostitutes work in Germany, about 250 000
of whom are probably foreigners. Many were brought into the country by human traffickers from Ukraine, Bulgaria and Russia.
Experts believe that between 70 000 and 120 000 women are transported to Germany for prostitution each year. Other estimates put the number of women who enter the European Union annually at about 140 000.
German police picked up about 970 victims of human trafficking in 2004. More than two-thirds of the women entered the country legally, according to Germany’s Federal Criminal Office.
Newspaper ads and ostensible booking agencies lure them with promises of gainful employment as waitresses and au-pair girls. Violence is sometimes used to recruit them.
Last year, Germany toughened its laws aimed at combating prostitution-linked human trafficking. Now, the Justice Ministry says, it is not only prohibited to force people into prostitution but also to violate their dignity in peep shows and pornographic presentations.
”Human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation” is punishable by six months to 10 years in prison under Section 232 of the Criminal Code.
Revenues from Germany’s sex business are estimated at â,¬14,5-billion ($18-billion) annually. Most of the money goes to pimps and to those who rent out rooms.
Experts say increased violence against prostitutes is possible during the World Cup. Andrea Hitzke, deputy chief of the Dortmund Midnight Mission, an aid organisation for prostitutes, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that ”more intense emotions after matches or greater alcohol consumption” could fuel aggression.
An emergency hotline has been set up for the women concerned.
There are an estimated 1 500 prostitutes in Dortmund, where six World Cup matches — including a semifinal — will be played.
Hitzke said she expected an increase in the number of prostitutes during the World Cup. Non-local prostitutes will book hotel rooms or seek places in brothels, she said. ”And there are clubs looking for women.”
Most of the new prostitutes come from Germany, she said, adding that some of them may be victims of human trafficking. But she dismissed talk of 40 000 forced prostitutes allegedly being brought into the country for the World Cup.
That, she said, was a ”colossally imaginary number”. – Sapa-dpa