|
|
BY A CORRESPONDENT
March 8, 2007: A survey report released by the United
Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says
commercial sex tourism is not only growing rapidly on
the Kenyan coast but also gaining increasing acceptance
as a valid means of earning an income.
Commercial sex tourism is being boosted by a flourishing
tourism industry in Kenya. According to the Kenyan
Tourism Board, 1.68 million tourists visited Kenya in
2005.
Out of all the girls the UNICEF interviewed for its
survey, 76% felt that commercial sex was an acceptable
way of making money.
The UNICEF findings are supported by Mathilda Katana,
field coordinator for Solidarity with Women in Distress
(SOLWODI), a Kenyan non-governmental organisation (NGO)
which provides support to commercial sex workers (CSW)
on the Kenyan coast.
Mathilda Katana operates the NGO’s branch in Mtwapa, a
suburb of Mombasa, where CSWs are trained to learn new
skills, are offered counselling, and the younger ones
are encouraged to return to school.
With so many tourists on the Kenyan coast and so few
other jobs available, for some women there is little
option other than to join the sex trade.
Many other young women, however, are forced into
prostitution by members of their family, says Stella
Muchiti Mulama, assistant programme manager and
researcher for the Straight Talk programme. The
programme runs youth-focused media events such as radio
shows, monthly magazines, and a website.
Straight Talk programme’s objective is to lobby-decision
makers and enable youth to discuss issues affecting
their lives, such as their involvement in sex work.
“Children are often coerced into prostitution by elder
people. Parents actually push their children to do sex
work. It happens quite a lot. Sometimes mothers, who are
also involved in sex work, bring their daughters into it
too. We have had stories of mothers forcing their
children to have sex with clients in order to earn their
school fees,” Stella Muchiti Mulama reveals.
There are many other factors too that bring young women
and girls into the sex industry, like peer pressure,
financial and social circumstances, and low aspirations.
Though earnings in the sex trade can vary widely,
potential income is much greater than if working in any
other profession.
According to media reports, because of the tightening of
laws in places like Asia, many foreign tourists who go
abroad to abuse underage girls are now flocking to
Kenya, where laws are seen as lax.
HIV/AIDS plays a devastating role in the lives of young
commercial sex workers on the coast in particular and
Kenya in general. The US Census Bureau has projected
that there are currently over 1.8 million children
living in Kenya who have been orphaned by AIDS.
A lack of parental guidance and the poverty that the
majority of AIDS orphans face in Kenya force many into
becoming CSWs.
Astrid Winkler, project manager with Respect, an
Austrian NGO, which is a member of ECPAT International
(End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and
Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), says:
“Many children are orphans because of HIV. This often
leads to them dropping out of school, and lack of
education. I see it as a kind of vicious circle,
starting with poverty, HIV, neglect, and ending in the
sex business at the Kenyan coast.”
Most young sex workers are knowledgeable about AIDS.
However, in many cases, their circumstances often force
them to have unprotected sex, as sex tourists offer more
money for sex without a condom.
The UNICEF report of 2006 found that over 35% of girls
did not use condoms at their client’s request.
According to the UNICEF report, Kenyan clients comprise
40% of the total number of clients the girls have.
However, these girls are not accepted in the local
community, making their lives even harder.
Figures on the number of young women involved in
prostitution are difficult to calculate accurately
because of the subversive nature of the industry itself.
However, the International Labour Organisation estimates
that there are some 30,000 girls under the age of 19
engaged in prostitution within Kenya.
The Kenyan government has introduced measures meant to
protect young girls and boys from prostitution. However,
there are those who think that these laws are mainly to
protect the reputation of the government rather than the
women themselves.
Kenya's tourist industry generated US $680 million in
2005.
In 2006, the Kenyan Tourism Ministry, along with the
Kenyan Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers and
Respect, introduced the ‘International Code of Conduct
for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation
in Travel and Tourism.’
The Code is an ECPAT project, funded by UNICEF, and
supported by the World Tourism Organisation. Those who
sign up to the Code in the tourism sector commit
themselves to “establishing ethical policy regarding the
sexual exploitation of children, introduce a clause in
contracts with suppliers stating a common repudiation of
commercial sexual exploitation of children, and provide
information to travellers through catalogues and
brochures.”
|
