So You Think You Will Dance?
As walkers glance at the women looking like highly sophisticated and sensual dolls in the window shop (we’ll let you guess where that is), they are suddenly bemused to see these ladies dancing away to a rhythmic heavy drum and base sound. Why music is playing or sex workers are dancing is off little worry to the curious observers who are clearly enjoying themselves watching this rather unique spectacle. As the music stops people are cheering and clapping away while a gigantic slide with writing unfolds. This is what it says:
“Every year thousands of women are promised a dance career in Western Europe.
Sadly too many of them end up here”.
Facial expressions turn blank – silence installs itself in the street. If you haven’t seen the video clip, check it out on our STOP THE TRAFFIK youtube channel. Duval Guillaume Modern, a PR agency in Belgium, created and made it for us to raise awareness about the women who are trafficked into the sex industry every year.
It’s clever – it goes straight to the point in a sassy and witty kind of way. Many women today are tricked and forced into a life they did not choose and most people are still unaware of this reality. False promises of dancing or modelling careers are indeed a common way to attract young women, particularly from Eastern Europe who dream of a better life in the western hemisphere. However not all women who are prostitutes or in the red light district have been trafficked, and it’s not only women it can happen to, trafficking for sexual exploitation happens to men and children as well. It is also not only the promise of a dance career that is used to lure and deceive people, it could be the promise of education or love and a relationship from someone posing as a real boyfriend/ girlfriend, and on rare occasions kidnapping. This also doesn’t happen just in Amsterdam but in almost every country and often a lot closer to home than we probably imagine –residential properties are sometimes used as undercover brothels.
You can choose to take action against this like our Active Community against Trafficking (ACT) Group in Craigavon, Northern Ireland did. They have been raising awareness about women who may have been trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation in their local area. They created the Red Card campaign, an information leaflet that they have been handing out at their local football club.
Feeling inspired? What could you do?
Thank you to Duval Guillaume Modern who made the video.
