At the 1010 World Cup Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa in August 2008, the Norwegian group Fokus Forum for Women and Development held a conference on trafficking and women. The group is working to end “the demand for women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation.” The August conference statement demanded “that the root causes of prostitution and trafficking must be addressed to achieve gender equality and sustainable democratic societies” and “a radical transformation of the patriarchal, political and social structures of power to achieve gender equality, women’s human rights and justice using education, collective organization, legislative change, social development, social movements and women’s organizations as means.” (Cited from Conference Statement - FOKUS Networking Conference, Cape Town, 2008.) The statement was signed by representative organizations from South Africa, Kenya, Moldova, Tanzania, Uganda, and Norway, as well as several region organizations.
Gunilla Ekberg of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women told conference participants that legalization of prostitution is violence.
Compiled from: Smook, Ella, "Protect Women Forced to Sell Sex," in The Cape Argus, 21 August 2008; Conference Statement - FOKUS Networking Conference, Cape Town, 2008.
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