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Anesu Kurebwaseka Mutare Bureau
URGENT action is critical in containing a potentially explosive situation in which commercial sex workers are reportedly forcing themselves on men before demanding payments for the unsolicited services, Manicaland provincial administrator Mr Edgar Seenza warned recently.

“There is a very high risk of sexually transmitted diseases spreading wildly if this madness is not stopped. Social welfare and other developmental organisations should chip in to find means of dealing with the matter urgently,” said Mr Seenza.

Mr Seenza was reacting to concerns raised by people attending a Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) meeting held in Mutare last week, which ended up torching a heated debate on possible ways of containing the situation.

In the ensuing debate, people expressed concern over reports that commercial sex workers were roaming the streets of Mutare particularly in places like Motomoto and Hobhouse residential area and harassing men, forcing them to pay for sexual services they would not have received or asked for.

So hot was the debate that some people ended up suggesting that prostitution should be legalised and standard charges set for sexual services especially after some participants sided with the sex workers saying they were being paid peanuts.

This development, people argued, was contributing to the fact sex workers were being pushed into their dubious activities because of the harsh economic conditions the country is going through, which had created stingy clients who were refusing to pay or paying as little as 25c for sexual services.

Some sex workers have, however, resorted to demanding money from people not even their clients; screaming to attract passers-by accusing innocent men of refusing to pay. The unsuspecting victims have in most cases paid to escape the wrath of the people and the embarrassment of being accused of refusing to pay after receiving the women’s services.

And because of the prevailing economic hardships, it was also noted that even children below the age of 10 had joined the game of prostitution to earn a living despite receiving payments as little as 25c.

ZNFPC provincial manager Mr Dyson Masvingise noted a case in Hobhouse in which a man was chased by a couple of sex workers who were labeling him a thief after he refused to give in to their demands and ultimately paying for a service he had not received.

“The issue of prostitution is becoming alarming and if no solution is brought found, it will go out of hand. Men are being forced to pay for services they do not need and failure to do so, can land one in trouble like in the case of the Hobhouse man

“Their actions maybe a result of the poor payments they are receiving for their services, which is forcing them to take such drastic action” he said

Loice Kapondo from the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Research (CeSHHAR) said legalizing prostitution would be a positive move so that women are paid better wages for their services.