Prostitution not by choice

 THE government should make homes for orphans if it wants to stop prostitution in the country, a sex worker says.

The prostitute, whose identity has been withheld for safety reasons, said that she did not choose the life of a prostitute but was forced by circumstances to become one.

“My father left us when I and my siblings were small. My mother was sick and all our relatives did not want to associate with us,” she said.

“When my mother died, I had three little siblings to look after, I tried to look for employment at government houses and private companies but there was no job.”

The woman said there were a few jobs available in shops but the pay was too lousy to cater for her and her siblings.

“Because I did not have the chance to complete my education, I wanted to send my younger siblings to school so that they may have a better life,” she said. “Through my work, I have managed to send all three of my siblings to school, two are in high school and one is in primary school now.

“I rent a place for us and my little ones live a normal life.”

The woman said that prostitution was a trade or a job like any.

“But because of the hardship in life, especially the orphans, many go into the trade of sex workers.”

She said if the government really cared for its people and wanted to decrease the number of women on the streets, they should start addressing orphans.

“Children, especially young females who have no one to care for them, often go into the trade to survive,” she said.

“As an orphan with three younger siblings, I became a prostitute because the government did not provide homes or help to orphans,” she said.