The real reasons behind prostitution

Bongiwe Nkomazana
I was at a workshop in Mutare and one of the issues out of the many that they face as a community is prostitution. When we got into discussing the possible solutions to these issues, creating awareness around the dangers of prostitution and educating the girl child were the two most agreed upon solutions to prostitution.

Whilst I do agree that the chances of a well qualified woman being a sex worker could be lower than those of an uneducated one, creating awareness around prostitution and its dangers has become completely useless in my opinion.

Before I proceed, I will let you know that I did consider using euphemism to cover up the harshness of the word “prostitution” because of the type of conservative people we are. As you read this, you will notice that I threw that consideration out the window because sometimes a spade needs to be called a spade in order to drive a point home, you know.

Prostitution is known as the oldest profession in the world and indeed, it has always been a common way for women to make money, even in Bible times. This means that it has been studied for centuries and the effects of prostitution have been a real part of actual lives and have been shared through literature and verbal teachings for just as long.

With HIV and Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases being in circulation as early as the 1920s, awareness around them is there. Most women and young ladies are in the know when it comes to the detrimental effects of laying with multiple partners in a lifetime let alone a night.

The issue really lies in why prostitution continues to be so rife all over the world, despite all the awareness campaigns that have been taking place for the longest time and the women empowerment efforts that have opened up numerous opportunities for women. Why do we have women opting to “walk the streets”?

There is no doubt that money is the primary reason for prostitution. Some women in the business have stated that they like the large sums of money they can earn while they are still young. Others see it as a way to pay for university education and further advancement and most state that they intend to leave the business once they have earned the amount they want.

It does not sound so catastrophic when it is laid out like this, does it? In fact, it almost glamourises it and demands respect to be put to it. However, this is not the case with all groups of sex workers. A survey carried out by sciencenordic.com shows that there are a number of reasons that rank almost as high as money.

Before we go to those, let us talk about poverty and how it is leaving some of our sisters with no choice but to sell their bodies for as little as a $2. When the people in the workshop described to us how and why young women in their community got caught up in prostitution I got the sense that even though they did not agree with the act they almost did not blame and sort of understood why these women had to do it.

Of course we have your typical “lady of the night” who is too lazy to work and think creatively of ways to make money constructively. On the other hand, you have a 17 year old orphan who has to fend for her three younger siblings yet she still has no qualification. Any sort of capital is non-existent and the way Zimbabwe is set up for now; the opportunities are also just imaginary.

Be honest, if you found yourself in the same desperate situation, would you not panic and reach out to the first solution that came your way even if it came with a nauseating job description and a $2 payout? It is at that point that I decided I would bring it up on this platform just to have a feel of what other Zimbabweans thought and felt about the issue.

Another reason for prostitution that was also very common was sexual abuse. The survey showed that most women who are driven to sex work were victims of some sort of sexual abuse in their childhood. It is the nature of this abuse, more than anything else that seems to be at the core of how and why some of them become prostitutes. I am not psychologist but I imagine that the results of the trauma they experienced during the abuse come out as unhealthy sexual relationships and sexual habits thus leading to prostitution.

These are the people most likely to be addicted to drugs as well because of these underlying issues and are more likely to develop, or already have, serious health problems. That is such a sad story and if it does not prove the struggle that is behind some women being in this situation, I do not know what will.

Another common reason to prostitution is sex trafficking. We hear about it on the news and watch documentaries on it but for some reason it remains mythical. Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery.

A victim is forced, in one of a variety of ways, into a situation of dependency on their trafficker and then is used to give sexual services to customers. I came across an article that explained that women in Zimbabwe’s border towns like Beitbridge, Plumtree, Victoria Falls and Mutare are more susceptible to being lured to the neighbouring countries for sex work whilst women, girls and men and boys are lured to as far as China and Egypt under false employment promises only to find themselves being sexually exploited.

Imagine having no family or friends and no money in a country whose language you do not understand and whose geography is just foreign! How scary is that?

It is only until we cease judgment and/or stereotyping and take the time to appreciate that the problem is not simple or generic and understand the real reasons behind a woman’s decision to trade her body for cash that we will be able to formulate a solution to ending prostitution. That is if ending it is even possible.

– You are encouraged to share and discuss your views, opinions, experiences, and opinions on this difficult issue. —[email protected]