Will the Games be tainted by trafficking?

This feature was originally published on Women’s Views on News.

Anti-slavery campaigners are calling for details to be released of firms hired for the 2012 Olympics amid concerns that they will be a magnet for traffickers. Claims that there could be a surge in sex trafficking in the lead-up to the start of the Games have already attracted media attention, while the methods used by the police to crack down on brothels in the five Olympic boroughs provoked criticism earlier this year.

A campaign by Anti-Slavery International is focusing on concerns that the Games could worsen the existing problem of slavery in the UK, where there are an estimated 5,000 trafficked people at any one time. Women lured to this country, often on the promise of jobs that don’t exist, end up working as domestic workers, cleaners and carers, as well as in prostitution. Trafficked labour is also used in the restaurant trade, farms, factories and in construction work. What’s more, the influx of visitors caused by such a major sporting event will lead to the creation of  just the kind of temporary, low-paid and low-skilled jobs that attract traffickers. The home secretary Theresa May acknowledged that the Games were likely to be targeted by criminal gangs when she announced a new strategy to combat human trafficking in June.

As the 2012 Games draw nearer, Anti-Slavery International plans to petition the Conservative government to pressure the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to disclose details of companies, contractors and sub-contractors who will be carrying out work. Greater transparency will enable people around the world to check which companies are genuine employers offering genuine jobs, said Paul Donohoe of Anti-Slavery International:

“It always happens but the Olympics could obviously give that bit more credibility,” he said. “This is an area where we feel the lack of transparency could leave people more vulnerable to exploitation.” The petition also calls for greater transparency about manufacturers of mascots and official merchandise, to ensure that they are not made in sweat shops around the world. “Again, the information isn’t shared,” said Donohoe. “Forced labour does go on in London and people are trafficked here to work.”

“Our concern is that with such a huge event like the Olympics, the amount of work that’s been going on around the area, plus the increase in the number of hotel rooms requiring cleaners and hotel staff, there will be a temporary work force attracted by the opportunities. “Bogus agents, traffickers are clever enough to exploit this, because they’re clever enough to exploit the fact that plenty of people are seeking work in London anyway,” he continued. “It’s essential, given the problems [with trafficking] that London faces anyway, that we don’t allow the Olympics to be anything but positive. We would like the legacy from the Games to be improved safeguards against trafficking and therefore London becomes less of a destination.”

The question of whether the Games will lead to an increase in sexual trafficking is a disputed one. Precise figures are difficult to ascertain, but it is estimated that up to 2,600 women were trafficked to the UK for sexual exploitation in 2009. Claims that sporting events such as the Olympic Games cause a surge in sex trafficking and prostitution have been the subject of controversy in the past; researchers at the International Organisation for Migration concluded in 2006 that media reports that 40,000 women might be trafficked into Germany for the World Cup that year were unfounded and unrealistic. However, research showed that the number of known trafficking victims almost doubled in Athens during the Olympic Games in 2004.

You can pledge your support to Anti-Slavery International’s Slavery-Free London 2012 campaign online here.

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Women lured to this country often end up working as domestic workers, cleaners and carers, as well as in prostitution...