Source: www.capetimes.co.za

Stockholm: Sweden's sexual equality ombudsman demanded yesterday that their soccer team pull out of the World Cup in Germany in protest at extra brothels being set up to cope with demand from football fans.

The idea got short shrift from Swedish Football Association president Lars-Ake Lagrell, who said such a move would "disappoint the nation" and probably get it knocked out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as well.

With a million visitors heading to Germany for the month-long tournament starting on June 9, red light districts of the 12 host cities are braced for a huge influx.

"I'm a soccer fan myself but the point is that the World Cup in soccer is an opportunity for men to show our abhorrence of the trade in human beings," equality ombudsman Claes Borgstrom said. "Other countries might follow our example."

European Union lawmakers have warned that thousands of women could be forced into prostitution by criminal gangs to cope with the increased demand during the Soccer World Cup.

Unlike Germany, where some 400,000 prostitutes ply their trade legally, Sweden has introduced some of Europe's toughest laws against prostitution, targeting those buying sex rather than prostitutes themselves, who are treated as victims.

Alarmed at reports of giant brothels and wooden "sex huts" being built for the World Cup, Swedish politicians have taken up the cause, earning Lagrell the offer of a guided tour of a brothel from a group of German prostitutes, which he declined.

Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom has called on Germany to simply "forbid buying sex" to prevent the exploitation of women.

Equality Minister Jens Orback told the UN in February that "hundreds of thousands of women are being recruited, transported and sold as slaves in Europe. The disturbing thing is that wonderful big sports events increase this slave trade".

Sweden faces England, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago in the early stages of the tournament and Swedish fans have applied for a record number of World Cup tickets.

Lagrell promises that no Swedish player will use brothels in the World Cup, but has resisted calls for high-profile players like Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Arsenal's Fredrik Ljungberg or Barcelona's Henrik Larsson to campaign against prostitution.

The following commentary and views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Adult Rental.

I had a nice little chuckle reading the story above. Of all the countries in the world, I would have figured the last place that would rebel against prostitutes and sex in general is Sweden, but hey, what do I know?

The main argument these folks have I s that they feel that women will be forced into prostitution, which I find completely absurd. As you can see, Germany has 400,000 prostitutes working legally in the country so it’s already established and somewhat controlled. The second argument is that women will be exploited from this. Excuse me?? In a country that has 400,000 women already in the trade, they are somehow going to exploit women? I don’t think so buddy.

I have written before that I feel strongly the places where prostitution is legal, the exploitation, sexual related crimes crime and harm to women and children is a lot less and more manageable. Certainly in Germany they have a handle on the trade and are simply meeting the demands of people. I believe that a lot more damage and trouble would be caused If they did not make these kinds of arrangements ahead of time.

Whenever a major event like the World Cup, The Olympics, or Large Trade shows like the Consumer Electronics Show happen, prostitutes earnings go through the roof. When you have a bunch of horny, lonely people in town, they often seek out the services of escorts. Prostitutes travel from around the globe to be present at these events, often working with local agencies earning substantial income.

The Germans are smart by setting this up, they are protecting the existing escorts, and giving police and local authorities more control over the situation. The Germans are smart enough to realize that prostitutes would be present regardless, isn’t it better to have it in a controlled environment as opposed to having a bunch of seedy characters loitering and hanging around street corners?

There are many other concerns for the German Police, they have to ensure the players safety, control the few horrible violent hoodlums that attend the games which give the beautiful sport a black eye, along with the ever present threat of a terrorist attack. There are so many more important and vital causes people and organizations could be protesting for, why is it that the legal consensual sex trade always under attack? I am very curious to hear your comments.