Commercial s.ex workers yesterday warned that Zimbabwe’s hopes of complying with UN goals to end Aids by 2030 will be vain if their trade is not afforded respect and better treatment.
The s.ex workers told delegates attending Icasa in Harare yesterday that they are faced with a myriad challenges that range from violence from clients to stigma associated with selling s.ex as well as harassment by law enforcement agents.
Accessing legal and social services were other impediments s.ex workers want UNAids and governments to assist.
“If a s.ex worker goes into a hospital, he or she should be treated with dignity and respect, just like anyone else,” said a s.ex worker who only identified herself as Fabian.
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| Respect our trade and give us better treatment... says Avenues Hookers |
One s.ex worker from Kenya said her colleagues were being jailed in her home country “for having tested HIV-positive”.
Other s.ex workers also demanded a voice at international forums.
African S.ex Workers Alliance said they had come face to face with the harsh reality being experienced by s.ex workers in Zimbabwe after government confiscated their workshop material ahead of Icasa.
“We did an assessment before we came here to see if our participants will be accepted. It is very disheartening to then have our workshop material confiscated and only given back on Monday,” the groups said in a statement.
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Former Botswana minister of Health Sheila Tilou said despite the controversy surrounding the subject, it was the prerogative of Zimbabwe’s Health ministry to spearhead efforts of assisting s.ex workers.
“When I was minister, this subject was as much a controversy as it is now, but I couldn’t stand by and watch,” she said.
“I made considerable progress for the plight of s.ex workers. It can be done. No revolution was ever won without ruffling feathers. You have to push for your rights to be heard.”
On the issue of s.ex workers access to cervical cancer treatment, Tilou said Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe had a duty to protect vulnerable groups.
“African first ladies converged for the 9th Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostrate Cancer in Africa (SCCA) conference in Nairobi, Kenya from July 19-22, 2015 where they pledged to assist in the fight against cervical cancer,” she said.
Fadzai said poverty and lack of information have escalated the problem.
“I don’t want to be a s.ex worker but lack of opportunities have pushed me to this life but how can my family survive?” she asked rhetorically.
Zimbabwe is grappling to contain the damaging and raging effects of HIV and Aids, with 1,6 million people living with the virus as of end of 2014.
Source: Daily News
