About the Red Card Project
The Red Card Project aims to mobilize students from around the world to stage a powerful and striking condemnation of human trafficking at international sporting events. The goals of this project are two-fold:
- We seek to coordinate a strong campaign to raise public awareness of the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation.
- This campaign will empower students, educate them on the issue of human trafficking, and develop their skills as youth activists.
Red Cards are used in soccer matches to eject players who have committed a serious foul, and this project employs this symbolism to issue a forceful repudiation of sexual trafficking At the 2010 World Cup Games, we widely distributed red cards that raise awareness of the serious human rights issue. Both informative and functional, the pocket-sized cards contained the schedules of all tournament games and were also displayed by fans at the games to urge referees to rule against the opposing team. Most importantly, they reminded all game attendees that the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation, as well as any support of such actions, is legally, morally, and ethically wrong.
Throughout the one month of the World Cup, we run the Red Card to the Trafficking of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation program as an effective preventative measure to combat trafficking during the games. The card serves its purpose as well as is attractive and useful to fans. The front of the card is red to symbolize the red cards given to players who severely violate the rules of the game and are disqualified from further participation. The simple message, "Red card to the Trafficking of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation," written in both English and French, will send a strikingly clear message to the attendees of every event. The back is yellow, which, as in football terms, stands as a warning to game attendees, traffickers and players alike. Sponsors of the Red Cards initiative will have their logos printed on the front of the card, and a small version of the match schedule/event activities is printed on the back.
Human Trafficking Facts
It is difficult to measure the exact number of individuals trafficked during largely attended events such as the Soccer events, huge conferences, and even the Olympic Games.
The dynamics of human trafficking at large events are two-fold: "the international events may affect human trafficking in the host country: (1) contributing to a short-term increase in demand for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation in, and around, the locale of the event; and (2) facilitating entry of trafficked persons as "visitors" before they are transited to other cities or countries and exploited there." (Faster, Higher, and Stronger: Preventing Human Trafficking at the 2010 Olympics, The Future Group, and November 2007).
Focusing our attention on the 2010 FIFA World Cup Games in South Africa and the 2012 Olympic games in London is critically important. According to the United States State Department of Trafficking in Person's Report from June of 2008, "South Africa is a source, transit and destination country for trafficked men, women and children." U.S. ambassador Luis CdeBaca also recently warned of an increase in human trafficking and prostitution in South Africa during the games. He expressed his concern over police policies that focus more on prostitution rather than on trafficking itself.
A rise in HIV/AIDS and STD levels is a possible danger to such international events. While the current levels of HIV/AIDS infection have stabilized and are low in many events host countries, the situation could deteriorate without preventative measures in place to address sexual exploitation and its relation to HIV/AIDS and other STDs.
