London 2012 Olympics could see prostitutes striking gold
March 27th, 2010 - 7:35 pm ICT by ANILondon, Mar. 27 (ANI): The London 2012 Games could become a magnet for prostitutes trafficked from Eastern Europe by criminal gangs, it is feared. According to The Telegraph, the number of prostitutes working near the main Olympic site in Stratford, east London, has reportedly doubled already since work began on the stadium, with an accompanying rise in cases of sexually transmitted diseases.
Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, has held meetings with officials from the Vancouver Winter Olympics, where the number of sex workers increased five-fold to around 1,000 during the Games, and is working with police on preventing a similar influx here.
“Trafficking women for prostitution is a vile trade and we need to treat very seriously any suggestion the Olympics might encourage it,” she was quoted, as saying.
Police and council staff in the five London boroughs surrounding the main Olympic site, where 10,000 construction workers are based, have reported a sharp rise in the number of prostitutes on the streets, from around 125 to more than 250.
Figures from the time of the 2004 Athens Olympics show an increase of 95 per cent in prostitution, with the number of trafficked women increasing from 93 to 181.
After the Games the figures in relation to both prostitutes and trafficking remained higher than before. (ANI)
- US report highlights trafficking in India - Jun 28, 2011
- Rise in women trafficked into China: Report - Dec 03, 2011
- Super Bowl's 'dark side' - Child sex trafficking - Feb 02, 2011
- Some Sri Lankan TV actresses in prostitution ring - Jul 26, 2011
- London Olympics likely to be under budget - Feb 29, 2012
- 2012 Olympic torch lit in Ancient Olympia - May 10, 2012
- Rise in trafficking of Chinese women - Jan 24, 2011
- International crime groups spreading 'trafficking of Chinese women' abroad - Jan 24, 2011
- Olympic flame lit in Greece (Lead) - May 10, 2012
- 12,000 foreign 'sex slaves' working in British brothels: Report - Aug 19, 2010
- London Olympics site built on top of heavily contaminated ground, thin plastic sheet - Feb 14, 2010
- Call to ban alcohol from Oz strip clubs infuriates operators - Dec 08, 2010
- Missiles to be deployed at six London sites to protect Olympics - May 01, 2012
- British police fear rise in sex workers during 2012 London Olympics - Jul 15, 2009
- London Olympic stadium built over unexploded World War II bomb - Oct 10, 2010
Tags: 2004 athens olympics, 2012 olympics, construction workers, council staff, criminal gangs, east london, eastern europe, influx, london 2012 olympics, london boroughs, olympics, prostitutes, prostitution, sex workers, stratford, striking gold, tessa jowell, trafficking women, vancouver winter olympics, winter olympics