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Sukulwenkosi Dube
“I AM a sex worker and I am proud of what I am doing because I was able to be enterprising as I decided to use a part of my body to sustain my family. The economy of our country is in a bad state and I am like any other working woman in this country who is trying to earn a living,” said Mukotopeya, a sex worker from Harare during a four-day workshop on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) media training and sensitisation for journalists last week.
“My work is similar to that of vending women as we all rely on selling in order to sustain our families; the difference is in the kind of goods we sell. Actually I am even better compared to other working women who are getting peanuts.”
Mukotopeya, who declined to give her actual name or to have a picture of hers taken, also revealed that she was HIV positive.
The workshop, which was organised by UNFPA, sought to build the media’s capacity on ways to enrich coverage of SRH issues in electronic, print and social media.
Mukotopeya (35), who preferred to use her work name, said she had been operating as a sex worker for 13 years.
“I became a sex worker when I was 22 and I am currently a mother of three but I am expecting another child as I am eight months pregnant.
“My pregnancy does not deter me from doing my job in any way as I knew that I had to fend for my children since I am not married. I have been nicknamed Mukotopeya (a corruption of the name avocado pear) after my work as I am bearing children but I am not married and I am not in any way involved with any of these men who fathered my children,” she said.
She blames her parents for “pushing” her into an early marriage. The union collapsed which forced her into sex work.
“When I was doing my Form Four my parents forced me into marrying an elderly man. I did not proceed with my studies further as I was a married woman but I had great difficulties in adjusting to my new lifestyle as I was still young.
“I faced a lot of difficulties during my period of marriage and the ill-treatment I got from my husband forced me to the leave the marriage. He was always accusing me of being inexperienced in bed and failing to satisfy him until he brought another woman into the house,” said Mukotopeya.
She said she decided that the easiest remedy for her problem was to become a sex worker.
“I left my marriage with two children and at first I tried to get employment but I failed. Doing minor jobs such as vending did not appear as an option for raising my two children and that is when I opted for sex work.
“I am really able to sustain my family as I can get as many as 10 clients in a single day. I do not regret what I am doing because what matters is that I never fail to put food on the table for my three children,” said Mukotopeya.
Zimbabwe has 12 300 sex workers registered with the UN agency. Registered individuals are given identity cards.
Another 36-year-old sex worker from Bulawayo who preferred anonymity said she had been in the industry for 19 years.
“Being a sex worker is my life and livelihood. I have two children one aged 17 and another 14 years. I have been able to put them through school using the money I have raised as a sex worker and I do not beg from anyone.
“The kind of job you do does not matter. All that matters is whether you can sustain your family. A wrong action is when a woman neglects her children after a failed marriage. At least I provide for mine and I am proud of that,” she said.
She said her children were not aware of the kind of job she was engaged in.
“My two children are not aware of what I am doing. I have a room which I rent in town which I have converted into an office and I never take a client into my house. During my spare time I sew a few items for sale and my children assume that is how I fend for them. I do not want them to know that I am a sex worker because I know that they will judge and despise me just like what the whole society does. A lot of people have advised me to sell tomatoes for a livelihood but giving up what I am doing to make lousy money through vending is not an option,” said the sex worker.
She said the discrimination which she and other sex workers received made it difficult for them to access health services.
“We are treated like devils of the society everywhere we go. It is very difficult to access health care especially with an STI as we are advised to bring our partners in order to access treatment.
“Whenever I seek treatment and I reveal that I am a sex worker nurses develop a negative attitude towards me and they treat me indifferently. I do not expect any form of discrimination from society as I am an ordinary human being,” she said.
She said sex workers had to be respected and treated like all other workers.
Operating in Gwanda, Ms Patience Mhlanga said most sex workers were victims of failed marriages.
“In most cases the men that we are involved with force us into sex work. I was married just as what is expected by society but our marriage did not work out because of my husband’s infidelity.
“I left him and for the first four years I was doing piece jobs but I realised that I was wasting time. I left for Chimanimani and that is when a friend of mine introduced me to sex work,” said Ms Mhlanga.
She said she often faced challenges from men who requested her services but later refused to pay her.
“Police officers and soldiers comprise most of our clients. The problem I face is that most of them do not pay after receiving my services. If I demand my payment they threaten me and that is how they escape.
“Other clients trick us by making all kinds of excuses. Others pretend to look for changed money and they disappear without paying. This is one of the challenges I face in the industry as I would be expecting everyone to pay as I am in business,” she said.
Ms Mhlanga said her charges differed with the kind of service she was offering.
“The charges vary but the lowest I charge is $2 for a short time session but I normally charge $5. As for a night session I charge $25. At times business is good and on some occasions it is bad.
“On a normal day I can entertain seven clients but when business is very good I can exceed 10. On days when business is low I reduce my charges to $2 so that I can at least have clients,” he said.
She said there was “stiff competition” for clients as the industry was now “flooded.”
More and more women are engaging in sex work as their source of livelihood regardless of HIV cases that are being recorded in the country. They regard their move as an act of desperation in a bid to sustain their families.
Ms Mhlanga said HIV infection was not a threat for sex workers.
“The fear of being infected with HIV is not a development which can deter me from doing my job. Every business has risks and this disease is the major risk in our profession.
“There is definitely a risk of being infected because I follow the wishes of a client. If a client does not want us to use protection during intercourse I follow suit as I am supposed to follow the desires of my clients to keep the money coming,” said Ms Mhlanga.
She said her profession did not require her to have any emotional attachment to her clients.
“I do not have any emotional connection to the men I have sexual intercourse with because I am in business. I offer my services for money and not for love.
“I also do not expect my clients to have any form of attachment to me. I do not entertain the same client repeatedly in order to avoid any form of attachment. I am also not concerned with the performance of a client or being satisfied by a client because what I do is all about getting the job done and getting my payment afterwards,” said Ms Mhlanga.
Society generally shuns sex work. While there is no law in Zimbabwe that criminalises sex work per se, police often arrest women whom they allege would be “loitering for the purposes of prostitution.”
Sex workers equate their work to any other profession in the country and therefore continue to appeal for the decriminalisation of their activities. They detest being called “commercial sex workers” arguing that all paid work is commercial.
Mr Samson Chidiya, UNFPA Programme Analyst for key affected populations said the agency was in the process of compiling a national database for sex workers under the Zimbabwe National Sex Work Programme.
“The programme was launched four years back and it seeks to educate sex workers on how to conduct their operations in a responsible manner. Sex work is one of the reasons why new cases of HIV infection are being recorded in the country.
“We have registered more than 12 383 sex workers in our database and we are still compiling it. We have issued the sex workers with IDs under the programme in order to identify them,” said Mr Chidiya.
Online Reporter