Red Card Project South Africa 2010
The Red Card to the Trafficking of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation program was an effective preventative measure to combat trafficking during the games. As in football, the red cards were distributed to indicate that participating in human trafficking is an intolerable violation of rules. The cards, which feature game schedules, sponsor logos, and both a red and yellow side for fans to display during matches, was inscribed with the simple message, “Red Card to the Trafficking of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation.” During the 2010 FIFA World Cup games in South Africa, matches were held in ten different stadiums throughout the country. By stationing volunteers at four, we were able to reach a large number of attendees prior to the actual games to alert them that there was a zero-tolerance attitude towards human trafficking. The four were Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Durban.
Much like Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Rustenburg had stadiums, the four selected host cities for the implementation of the project also had fan parks and like all the other fan parks throughout South Africa, they were be opened from 10am on the morning of the match and stayed open late. A total of 20,000 red cards were distributed to attendees of various games at fan parks, stadiums and public venues.
Publications & Media
The entire project did not just catch the attention of individuals who attended the 2010 world cup from all over the world, but drew the attention of some international media who joined in the campaign. KAYA FM is one of South Africa’s popular radio stations with over one million five hundred thousand listeners. Upon hearing about the project, the implementation team was invited to its popular evening show (Today with John Perlman) to speak on the entire project and use it as an opportunity to let the public as well as attendees to the game know about human trafficking and its related issues. Other media interviews granted included, Shantou University Media, University of Florida school of Journalism.
