Italy Wins World Cup; Battle Against Sex-Trafficking to Continue

Italy has won the World Cup 2006 after beating France 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out.

|PIC1|After an engrossing game, Italy defender Fabio Grosso scored the penalty to win the trophy, after France’s David Trezeguet’s penalty hit the crossbar.

Extra time ended in controversy, when Zinedine Zidane, playing his last game before retiring, ended his international career embarrassingly after he was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest.

Zidane had put France ahead early on in the first half, when he calmly chipped a penalty. However, Italy’s Materazzi equalised with a header from an Andrea Pirlo corner.

The result means that Italy become the second-most successful country in World Cup football, with their fourth time as champions. Brazil remain the most successful, being five-time winners of footballs most prestigious trophy.

The World Cup has been eventful on and off the pitch, with Germany receiving praise for their efficient running of the tournament as the host nation. However, concerns have repeatedly been expressed about problems with sex-trafficking in Germany during the World Cup.

Last week one former prostitute told Premier Radio about how she had found Christianity and escaped the sex-trade. Australian born Linda Watson reported that from across Europe, including England were being taken against their will to work as prostitutes in Germany during the World Cup.

“In Germany, prostitution became legal in 2001, with the example that this would stop the trafficking of women. There are now 44,000 women trafficked into Germany for the World Cup alone. The legalisation of prostitution does not help prostitutes at all,” said Watson.

|PIC2|“What a lot of listeners don't realise is that once a government normalised it [prostitution] as a business, trafficking of women and children will be proliferated.”

Watson, who has been given the title of Australia's most inspirational woman, told Premier Radio she had been shot at and witnessed horrific sights while working in the sex industry and still has to face the damage prostitution causes as she helps women leaving the trade at her halfway house.

She said, “I've seen dogs that have been beaten, but these women have been battered. Some of them have had sex with men maybe fifteen times a day. We're talking about thousands of women and children being abused by prostitution everyday. I've lost women to drugs and to suicide.”

It was Christianity that allowed Watson to break free from life in the sex industry. She says many of these women have similar pasts. “Some of these women have religious backgrounds, they want to come back to faith but it's hard for them. Nobody is addressing the mental and spiritual health of these women.”

“My mother has been a Christian all her life, she prayed everyday for me and those prayers were answered. It took twenty years to have them answered.”

Watson told Premier Radio that she plans to visit the UK to encourage Churches and political leaders to take action against the sex trade.

“You're never going to stamp out prostitution but we've got to give a message to the government that it's not ok. As Christians, we need to say we hate the sin but love the sinner, we need to provide support for these people.”