Child harlotry victim tells her story:
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Victims of child prostitution shy away from the The Sunday Mail cameras to save themselves from being shamed by the society.
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Child prostitution in Zimbabwe’s mining towns is widespread and authorities trying to deal with the issue say it is “raging like a wild fire”.
Cases of child prostitution are reported to be on the increase, but, sadly, the country has failed to compute reliable statistics due to the secrecy that shrouds this practice.
With the victims usually keeping information to themselves, child prostitution has since evolved into one of the major drivers of HIV and Aids.
Those brave enough to publicly tell their stories are usually viewed with suspicion by a society that finds it difficult to accept their narrations.
The Sunday Mail In-Depth recently linked up with a victim of child prostitution who was ready to tell her story.
Evidence (15) (not her real name), who comes from Mazvihwa Village in Chivi, Masvingo Province, but is now resident in Zvishavane’s mining town of Mandava, said she became a victim of prostitution when she was 11 years old.
“I’m the eldest in a family of three and our parents died of HIV and Aids. I became the head of the family when I was 11 years,” she said with her head bowed down as if avoiding eye contact with this reporter
Evidence narrated that when she got to Zvishavane, she searched for employment as a housemaid, but she was not so lucky.
Prospective employers turned her down because of her age.
After spending two days in the asbestos mining town sleeping on pavements and with little hope, Evidence decided to venture into one of the nightclubs.
After about three visits to the night spot she could not resist the temptation of men who approached her for sexual pleasures for a fee.
That marked her graduation into adulthood.
But life was not easy and Evidence still wanted to secure a job until she met a woman who offered her free accommodation and food at her house, but for a price.
“The first few months at the brothel were a nightmare. Men were brought to us at any time and the owner of the house would order us into having sex with them,” said Evidence.
“We are not confined to the house because she allows us to go to the streets or clubs at night to make money for ourselves.”
Asked how much she charged per sex session, Evidence replied in shame: “In most cases US$1 for two sessions.”
The young girl has been treated for sexually transmitted diseases about six times.
She has also been a victim of physical abuse at the hands of some rough clients who even refuse to pay for services rendered.
But Evidence recounts some of her good nights when she would hook up a client who paid as much as US$15.
Sadly the better-paying clients do not use protection during the sexual intercourse.
Many young girls are seen parading themselves at various nightclubs and bars in Zvishavane soliciting for men.
Mrs Pauline Muzhewe, the networking and advocacy programmes officer of Padare/Enkundleni, a men’s forum on gender which has intervened to alleviate child prostitution in Zvishavane, said they were working with men at all social levels to stop the sexual abuse of the girl child.
“By engaging men, we are working towards creating a community that protects the rights of these children,” she said.
Child-headed families have been singled as the major driver of child prostitution in small towns.
Investigations also revealed that some children involved in the sex industry in Zvishavane come from families that were affected by the closure of operations at the Shabanie and Mashaba mines.
The mining town has a disproportionately high number of people under the anti-retroviral therapy.
Most rural communities are poverty-stricken, leaving children vulnerable to prostitution.
To support this, Chief Mazvihwa said his area had been hit by poor yields for the last five years, but could not conclude that that was the force behind prostitution in his area.
“I am not in a position to confirm or deny that there is child prostitution taking place in Zvishavane. I have only heard people talking about it,” said Chief Mazvihwa.
“Many children in my area drop out of school to come to Zvishavane to look for employment and nobody knows what they will end up doing at the end of the day,” he added.
A board member of Girl Child Network Zimbabwe, Ms Edna Masanga, said child prostitution was a national problem that needed urgent attention.
“As an activist, I would prefer calling it sexual abuse of the girl child. However, the abuse is on the increase, meaning that laws protecting the rights of children, especially girls, must be crafted,” she said.
Observers say children growing up in morally rotten communities are bound to emulate their elders, hence child prostitution is inevitable.
The chief executive officer of the National Aids Council (Nac), Dr Tapuwa Magure, said the increase in child prostitution across the country was worrying.
“The increase in sexually transmitted infections recorded across the country calls for concern, especially in this day and age of HIV. Indulging in unprotected sex fuels the incidence of HIV in the country,” he said.
According to a Nac annual report, there was a 3 percent increase in the number of new sexually transmitted infection (STIs) cases recorded from to 248 955 cases in 2010 to 255 821 in 2011.
This is, however, in contrast to the 30 percent increase that occurred between 2009 and 2010. For the year 2011, STI cases per province are as follows: Harare 46 978, Bulawayo 14 747, Manicaland 45 661, Midlands 32 164, Masvingo 53 611, Mashonaland Central 25 992, Mashonaland East 27 503, Mashonaland West 25 640, Matabeleland North 9 851 and Matabeleland South 21 240.
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