Prostitutes in Africa

Prostitutes in Africa would protect themselves against HIV, but they are offered more money to have sexual intercourse without a condom.

The trend of increased prostitution in Africa means a large step backwards in the fight against HIV. (Photoxpress)


Africa is the land of numerous unexploited goods and, at the same time, the continent with the highest rate of people infected with HIV. Prostitutes who come from countries which have lower rates of HIV infected people still have to fight against the infection.

Prostitution in Africa is to blame for increase in STD

In these countries, particularly in Senegal, “sex workers” do not only fight against a potential infection. At the same time, prostitutes in Africa are under threat of being punished by the law. According to the law, prostitutes may not provide their services in the street. Nevertheless, many prostitutes do not take this into consideration because it is their only source of income. Among them, there is a 41-year old woman, who has been in the world’s oldest profession for twenty years, and she can make up to $100 a month if the business is good:

“This is against the law to pick up customers on the street. But it is worth it for me to take the risk the police might pick me up because this is where the money is. We know a lot of about sexually-transmitted diseases and about AIDS. We are all afraid that one day we will become HIV positive or sick from AIDS. We would love to get out of this work, but we do not have the money to walk away.”

Poverty is the main cause of prostitution in Africa

Poverty is the main reason for prostitution of many women and girls in Africa, otherwise they would live in ever greater poverty. However, Ndeye Astou Diop, president of Aboya, a non-profit organization that works with HIV-positive women in Senegal, says the trend of increased prostitution in Africa means a large step backwards in the fight against AIDS: “Sex workers have told us that when they ask a client to use a condom, he offers to double the price to have sexual intercourse without the condom. These women are trying to provide for their children and families, so they take the offer.”

In Senegal, it is obligatory for prostitutes to undergo annual HIV testing, but the results are not encouraging, as about 20 per cent of Senegal's sex workers are HIV positive. And with respect to the current economic conditions in the world and the exploitation of African countries by the rich, it seems that nothing will change for quite some time.

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