(MENAFN- The Post) MASERU -Their work deemed illegal and immoral sex workers say they are in a fix as the effects of the outbreak of Covid-19 has left many of them desperate for survival.
Each has a story to tell on how they ended up being part of what is regarded as the world''s oldest profession.
thepost talked to several sex workers who were getting food parcels at an event organised by the Key Affected Populations Alliance of Lesotho (KAPAL), an association taking care of vulnerable groups affected by Covid-19.
Speaking out about their problems is almost impossible because of the public perceptions on prostitution, they said, adding that business is at its lowest ever.
Below are their stories: *Names have been changed.
Tšeli, 19, (name changed) says she feels trapped in the business and cannot break free, having been in the trade since she was nine years old when she fled bad treatment by her mother''s boyfriend.
''I tried to find work but people turned me down saying I was too young. I then decided to be a street kid for survival,'' she says.
Her mother took her back home but she couldn''t stay there for long.
''I returned back to the street as the abuse was unbearable. I only ate when she was around. I dropped out of school while in Standard Five. My mother disowned me and now I live with my boyfriend in one of the government''s abandoned buildings in Maseru.''
''She gave up on me and she said I shouldn''t say I am her child to people,'' says Tšeli.
Tšeli says she met an older sex worker who lured her into the trade.
''Since I was still a virgin, other girls took me to a forest saying we were going to have a bath. While there, a man came and they asked him to remove my virginity. That was how I was initiated into sex work at such a young age.
She says things were better before the pandemic.
''I was able to buy clothes and food.''
Risks, she says, include rape and sexually transmitted diseases.
''A client raped me recently and infected me with a sexually transmitted disease. He pointed a gun at me because I refused to have unprotected sex with him. I had to agree as I was powerless. Now I need money for medication but I don''t know where to get it. I can''t even pay my rent.
''If I got a second chance, I would still go back to school,'' she says.
*Lineo is 21 and she says she has been a sex worker since she was 18. She says she is hoping to change her life.
''I left school while in Form D because my mother was unable to pay for my fees. I am saving up so that I can be able to go back to school,'' she says.
She still visits home but ''they have no idea what I do''.
''I always lie to them saying I had visited my friend.''
She says she wouldn''t advise anyone to be a prostitute.
''This is not an easy job and it is very risky,'' she says.
Grace is a 33-year-old widow who began sex work while still married.
''I wanted to supplement my husband''s income. It was not easy to sneak out every time but looking at the finances, I had to do something to help him. I worked in clubs and guesthouses so that my husband would not find out. He knew I loved fun so he allowed me to go to bars but I would go to guest houses on weekends instead,'' she says.
She says at times she would lie that she had clients as he knew she has skills in hairdressing.
''I relied on my mother who is in the same business and things were not easy. It has since been difficult for me. I am emotionally drained. I do not know what to do to provide for my children. I used to make about M1 500 a month. Now, I get around M500. These food parcels will come in very handy. I really appreciate what KAPAL did.''
Grace is not looking at getting out the profession. Rather, she wants the government to regularise sex work.
''If only we could get a building, things would be easier and I believe there would be controls as we would have security. We are willing to pay tax.''
Theresa, 37, says she came to Maseru to look for her now 15-year-old-child''s father. Things have never been this tough in the decade she has been in the profession.
''I am now depending on my pastor and his wife for both food and rent. They knew what I do for a living but they still gave me food and paid my rent until the lockdown was lifted. I had no clients at all during the lockdown.''
She says when she came to Maseru from the rural areas she met some sex workers who welcomed her with her child in their rented house.
''I lived with them as I was only arriving in Maseru and I had no choice,'' she says.
Back then, she says, she used to leave her child with strangers for the whole night and pay them M10 in the morning. She bore three other children with some of her clients who decided to date her.
''Two of them have since died. My children are clueless about my work. This work helps me a lot as I am able to fulfil the responsibility of their fathers,'' she says.
Also she wishes ''old horses like myself'' should be assisted to retire from the profession and pursue other means of survival.
''I will quit once I find a stable job. I have been trying but there is nothing to date.''
40-year-old sex worker, Maria, was already a textile factory worker when she joined the profession in 2006.
''I was only trying to put food on the table because factory money wasn''t enough. I was always short of taxi fare and lunch box. I relied on people for basic needs,'' she says.
She said she has been working from her home since December last year.
''I thought it pains my family and siblings when they see me in the Maseru streets hence I resorted to working from home. They saw me several times and I wasn''t comfortable with it,'' she says.
She says working from home is still challenging as she has to ask her teenage boys to give her space every time she has clients coming.
''I hope they don''t find out because I am afraid of what they might do,'' she says, adding that she is not about to quit the profession.
''It is very difficult to stop because even if one finds some work, once there is shortage of something in the house, they go back to sex work. I did find a job as a house cleaner once and earned M700 but it was not enough and I was suffering.''
''Mapule Motsopa
MENAFN89202000022911070ID1100767312
-MENAFN89202000022911070ID1100767312-->
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.