With a million football fans splurging thousands of dollars during the World Cup, sex tourism was at an all time high in Cape Town with sex workers doing brisk business across the country.
No more moolah
Now, however, sex workers fear that business will not be as good. “Business was good, and several sex workers from nearby countries also made their way into Cape Town. But we fear it won’t be as good after the World Cup. During the Cup, we used to get three to four clients everyday,” said Aneqaah, who runs an escort agency. “We had a huge demand for white and coloured girls because all the fans who came here were from European countries, with the best deals coming from British fans,” she added.
Play safe
Play safe
A total of 1,60,000 condoms were distributed in 30 Cape Town accommodation establishments during the World Cup by Cape Town tourism authorities.Daddy Long Legs Boutique Backpackers, a hotel brimming with European soccer fans, was the first to engage with the project and boldly distribute the condoms.
“Our philosophy is to have fun, but we are aware of the fact that having fun creates risk. This is why we helped create awareness about HIV/AIDS among tourists as well,” said Sergio Dreyer, general manager of the Grand Daddy Group.
No support from FIFA
The authorities have run a campaign to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS in the city. But, South African AIDS organisations have accused FIFA of blocking access to condoms and HIV education materials at stadiums and fan parks.“To date, FIFA has not permitted any civil society organisation to distribute HIV or health-related information,” claimed the AIDS Consortium, the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society and several other organisations.