For the past month, the world has crowded around televisions to watch the World Cup. Bars and cafes were full of people dancing to Shakira’s Waka Waka song and trying to pronounce player’s last names from countries they can’t place on a map.
Soccer at this level begets competition, camaraderie, athleticism, national unity and international curiosity. But, I think on a smaller, more grassroots scale, soccer can also help us have a much-needed conversation about the intersections of important global issues such as environmental justice, sexual and reproductive rights and health, and gender equity. And the World Cup is the perfect moment to do just that.

In countries around the world, women, girls, and other marginalized populations have used soccer to mobilize and instill a sense of teamwork, self-worth and empowerment. Soccer can serve as a catalyst for community and behavioral changes on and off the field – particularly when it comes to gender roles. Coaches and more seasoned players can become mentors. And competition can create strong bonds and unified determination.

When these elements of the game are applied to other sectors of life, it can translate into big gains for global health. For example, this video by Global Girl Media discusses how a local soccer league in South Africa incorporates HIV prevention education into their sports program. The best part? The video was produced by young girls who receive media training so they can tell the stories that impact them and their communities.

And this effect isn’t limited to South Africa. In my hometown, San Diego, California, World Cup fever has inspired new and dynamic conversations about the links between family planning and the environment. So, on July 6th, I hosted a workshop with the San Diego Regional Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition titled “Sex, Soccer and Everything in Between” to discuss examples like Global Girl Media’s work.

The event featured meaningful conversations about the opportunities and challenges globalization raises, especially for women’s health and the environment. It was okay not to be an expert on these often complicated issues – the mere exchange of opinions and experiences enabled the group to become more invested, involved, and innovative. We discussed that when women and young girls feel self determined, recognized and engaged (feelings which result from playing sports such as soccer, according to the personal experiences of many attendees, including myself), it facilitates goal setting and planning for more successful futures. For girls, that may mean training to play in a tournament or pursue an education. For women of childbearing age, that can mean the ability to exercise their right to choose when and how to have a family. And for everyone, that can mean exercising our ability to plan how to use environmental resources for our future. Regardless, sharing common goals is powerful (pun shamelessly intended).

Now, I’m not going to claim that the World Cup is without its faults- it can be male-centric at times, and is far from perfect. But despite the fact that, for the most part, sports across the world are often considered “male” territory.  We should not deny ourselves the opportunity to reflect on how this sport can make a difference in the lives and health of women, families, and communities all over the world. Instead, we should pluck it from the air with the strength and grace of your favorite goalie.

Spain vs. Netherlands

Under a new law, teenage girls aged 16 and 17 can access abortion services in Spain without parental consent.

It’s been reported that the Netherlands has the lowest HIV transmission rate from sex and drug use in the world.

Uruguay vs. Germany

The Uruguayan government has established specialized courts to deal with cases of domestic violence.

After a birth or the adoption of a child, both mothers and fathers in Germany are eligible to receive 67 percent of their regular pay for up to 12 months of parental leave.

Germany vs. Spain

One quarter of all German births are attended by a midwife, as opposed to in the United States where only one in ten births have midwife assistance.

Working to eliminate violence against women, Spain launched an unprecedented campaign to allow a woman’s restraining order to protect her throughout the European Union—not only in her own country.

Uruguay vs. Netherlands

Last September, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to extend adoption rights to unmarried, gay, and lesbian couples.

About 93 percent of sexually active teenagers in the Netherlands use contraception, largely thanks to their country’s exemplary comprehensive sexuality education programs for young people.

Argentina vs. Germany

Argentine women and men flocked to the first ever International Women and Film Festival in Buenos Aires this May. The films—spotlighting gender equality, health, and rights—sparked debate and drew attention to the needs of women and girls.

In Germany, abortion is legal upon request up to 12 weeks;  for low income women, it is paid for by the national health service.

Paraguay vs. Spain

The percentage of married women in Paraguay using contraception jumped from just 57 percent in 1998 to 79 percent in 2008.

To try to prevent teen pregnancy and protect students from HIV transmission, a few high schools in Spain started selling condoms out of vending machines. Schools in other countries are now following suit.

Netherlands vs. Brazil

Abortion is the Netherlands is completely legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy—and, the country has one of the lowest abortion rates in the world, as well as one of the lowest maternal mortality rates. Could be because the government is so good at giving women the tools they need to decide if and when to have children.

IWHC partner organization Reprolatina in Brazil helps ensure that young people get the sexual health information they need in a format they’ll understand and relate to. Clearly, they’re doing something right: their website gets over 2 million hits per month!

Uruguay vs. Ghana

Gender equality is not yet a reality in Uruguay, but amazing individuals and organizations like IWHC partner Mujer y Salud en Uruguay are tirelessly advocating for sexual and reproductive health and standing up for the human rights of girls and women.

Groups like the Network for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana are working to help donors and governments rethink global HIV/AIDS funding so that it would better protect women and girls.

Despite all the positives to report on, the media loves a downside–and for huge sporting events, the downside is human trafficking, which the United Nations defines as:

“The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”

Mainstream media outlets have been reporting that 40,000 women have been trafficked into South African brothels for the World Cup. That’s a pretty horrifying statistic – except that there simply aren’t any good citations that confirm it.

Matthew Greennall wrote a great blog post that deconstructs the 40,000 figure and links to several articles that have used this “statistic” but can’t corroborate it; Global Voices likewise has a post flagging this problematic bit of reporting. Laura Agustín, author of the book Sex At the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets, and the Rescue Industry, points out that in 2006 the same 40,000 number was reported with regards to the World Cup in Germany (where prostitution is legal). Her post also highlights some of the important parts of a very in-depth academic article from Globalization and Health, Sex work and the 2010 FIFA World Cup: time for public health imperatives to prevail.

To be fair, there is some critique of the World Cup trafficking scare happening in mainstream media – for example, this month Yahoo! Sports ran piece called “Debunking the World Cup’s Biggest Myth” and the Wall Street Journal published an article called “Suspect Estimates of Trafficking at the World Cup”– but the voices of South Africans, and particularly people who work in the sex industry, were entirely absent from the articles. It’s a shame, because people in South Africa certainly have quite a bit to say on the subject.

The South African grassroots organization Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT) has recently launched an online resource about their push to decriminalize sex work in South Africa.  In addition to useful resources about myths and facts, and why people should support decriminalization, the website features the perspectives of sex workers themselves and critique of the reports on trafficking and the World Cup. SWEAT is careful to make the distinction between trafficking (which involves coercion or explicit force) and sex work (which, like many jobs, is often undertaken because of the circumstances of a person’s life), while many news reports present these situations as interchangeable. SWEAT supports anti-trafficking initiatives while also supporting sex workers’ rights to a livelihood without violence or discrimination. Their work also focuses on the examining the realities of HIV transmission among the sex working population.

South African Researchers Marlise Richter and Tamlyn Monson wrote up a Human Trafficking and Migration issue brief on the subject, in which they write:

… there is no evidence to support claims that trafficking is already a significant problem in the Southern African region. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the expectation that a large sporting event such as the 2010 Soccer World Cup is likely to increase human trafficking levels. The claim that trafficking is linked to large-scale sporting events is based, implicitly or explicitly, on the belief that events which attract large numbers of tourists – especially male tourists – increase the demand for paid sex. This supposedly increased demand is then assumed to be filled through women (and children) trafficked for sex.

Germany’s experiences during the 2006 Soccer World Cup contradict claims that trafficking volumes will rise during the 2010 event in South Africa. Before the 2006 Soccer World Cup, media reports and NGOs claimed that 40,000 women and children would be trafficked into Germany. Yet, in research conducted after the 2006 World Cup, researchers found evidence of only five cases of trafficking.

Trafficking is a very serious topic, but it’s important to recognize the differences between trafficking and sex work, without doing so, we do a disservice to both victims of trafficking and sex workers. It’s great that the World Cup has brought attention to these issues, but we need to make sure we’re doing it in the right way, and that the voices of those who are affected are included in the solutions.

Paraguay vs. Japan

IWHC partner CLADEM and other organizations have teamed up with Paraguay’s justice system to encourage survivors of domestic violence to seek help through the legal system, and to make it safer for them to do so.

In 1950, Japan had one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world—so it’s inspiring that today, thanks to free antenatal care, skilled birth attendants at nearly every delivery, and a liberal abortion law, Japan’s maternal mortality rate is one of the lowest anywhere.

Spain vs. Portugal

As of this February, Spanish law deemed abortion completely legal up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and up to 22 weeks in the case of malformation or risk to the mother’s health.

In May, Portugal’s President legalized same-sex marriage.

Netherlands vs. Slovakia

Not only is emergency contraception available in the Netherlands, it’s considered a part of the national family planning program, and its cost is covered by the national health insurance system!

Groups like the European Roma Rights Centre are working to get the Slovakian government to recognize and compensate Roma women who underwent forced sterilization in that country.

Brazil vs. Chile

IWHC partner Curumim has worked with over 2,500 midwives and 3,000 health professionals to help ensure that Brazilian women, especially those with few  resources, have knowledgeable, reliable care when giving birth.

Since becoming President of Chile in 2006, Michelle Bachelet established government-run domestic violence shelters in her country and ensured that women would be allowed to breast feed at work.