40 % of minors in Zimbabwe sell sex

Picture taken from chronicle.co.zw

Forty percent of young people in Zimbabwe started selling sex before the age of 18, it has been revealed.

According to The Aids Fonds – Stepping Stones, Sexual Rights Centre (SRC), a Bulawayo based organisation, conducted a needs assessment among young people selling sex.

The findings stress the importance of recognised minors and young people selling sex as a reality that requires a pragmatic response to ensure protection of their SRH rights, as well as their human rights

The Aids Fonds – Stepping Stones project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands is being implemented in 18 countries across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Community based organisations conducted needs assessments in Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. The research entailed in-depth interviews (Unstructured and semi-structured), a section of survey and focus group discussions in 12 countries, with 635 participants between 14-28 years of age.

Topics included needs, desires and obstacles in daily life; the context of selling sex; experiences with violence; knowledge of their; ways of generating income; and access to health services.

“Poverty, escaping a restrictive home environment and peer pressure to upgrade lifestyle, None of the participants consider themselves forced to sell sex by others.”

The human rights of minors and young people selling sex are often violated by the police as 51 percent are not aware of having legal rights.

“All participants started to have exchanged sexual favours with the police to avoid arrest. The police rarely file reports of violence against young people selling sex.”

Stigma and discrimination by health professionals often hampers young people selling sex to access   sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services.

“Sixty-seven percent experience stigma and discrimination because they sell sex. They prefer to visit traditional healers instead of qualified health professionals.”

Recommendations from findings included: “Creation of support and referrals systems for minors and young people selling sex. There is need to sensitise health professionals and police to reduce stigma and harassment of minors and young people selling sex.”

Minors and young people who sell sex are one of the most marginalised and vulnerable groups in society. When community organisations encounter minors working on the streets and in brothels, they face a difficult: how to work with them without risking being seen as encouraging them into the sex industry? As a result, young people and minors selling sex are often ignored in sexual and reproductive health, HIV and human rights interventions, despite their vulnerability.