Sex Work and Rehabilitation
The graph below shows the number of participants who have tried to use rehabilitative methods to leave the sex trade. It shows responses from those who participated in the interviews as well as the focus group discussions.
Seventeen out of the twenty two participants have tried rehabilitative methods. These rehabilitative methods included starting restaurants, bars, retail shops and kiosks. One woman even said she used marriage as a method of rehabilitation, but her husband’s family chased her away when they ran out of money.
The women faced many obstacles when they tried to leave the sex trade and find other means of employment. One woman spoke of the discrimination she faced when she started a restaurant. People gossiped amongst themselves saying “she has touched so many men” until nobody wanted to eat her food, and ultimately her business failed. Many women complained that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), in their efforts to get rid of street vendors and make the city more pleasant for tourists, took the women’s kiosks, so they had to return to sex work as a means of survival. Several other women stated that they had owned bars or retail shops, but their capital eventually ran out and their businesses became unsustainable.
Interestingly, all of the women said that they tried rehabilitative methods on their own, without the help of an organization. When I asked why these women chose to “rehabilitate themselves” rather than working with an organization, the women in the focus group discussions said that the organizations which exist require too much from the women. For example, one woman said that she wanted to learn hairdressing, but the organization insisted that she pay three million shillings before joining the program; the average worker in Uganda makes about 168,000 shillings each month. Not surprisingly, she could not afford to pay the fee, so she decided to try rehabilitative methods on her own. Other women said that organizations ask the sex workers for securities such as land titles, so they can feel confident that the women will repay any money owed to the organization.
When I asked whether these organizations have any outreach programs for the women, they all replied that they have to go and look for the organizations themselves. None of them ever had a representative of an organization come to them and give them information; any information they found, they gathered for themselves. Interestingly, three of the women who participated in the interviews did not know about any organizations which help rehabilitate sex workers. One of these women knew about organizations which help women learn skills such as hairdressing and tailoring, but she said these organizations could not help her because she practices an illegal trade. The other two participants said that the organizations they know about do not give the women enough start-up capital.
The women faced many obstacles when they tried to leave the sex trade and find other means of employment. One woman spoke of the discrimination she faced when she started a restaurant. People gossiped amongst themselves saying “she has touched so many men” until nobody wanted to eat her food, and ultimately her business failed. Many women complained that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), in their efforts to get rid of street vendors and make the city more pleasant for tourists, took the women’s kiosks, so they had to return to sex work as a means of survival. Several other women stated that they had owned bars or retail shops, but their capital eventually ran out and their businesses became unsustainable.
Interestingly, all of the women said that they tried rehabilitative methods on their own, without the help of an organization. When I asked why these women chose to “rehabilitate themselves” rather than working with an organization, the women in the focus group discussions said that the organizations which exist require too much from the women. For example, one woman said that she wanted to learn hairdressing, but the organization insisted that she pay three million shillings before joining the program; the average worker in Uganda makes about 168,000 shillings each month. Not surprisingly, she could not afford to pay the fee, so she decided to try rehabilitative methods on her own. Other women said that organizations ask the sex workers for securities such as land titles, so they can feel confident that the women will repay any money owed to the organization.
When I asked whether these organizations have any outreach programs for the women, they all replied that they have to go and look for the organizations themselves. None of them ever had a representative of an organization come to them and give them information; any information they found, they gathered for themselves. Interestingly, three of the women who participated in the interviews did not know about any organizations which help rehabilitate sex workers. One of these women knew about organizations which help women learn skills such as hairdressing and tailoring, but she said these organizations could not help her because she practices an illegal trade. The other two participants said that the organizations they know about do not give the women enough start-up capital.
Improvements
The women identified several ways to improve organizations which aim to rehabilitate sex workers. First, everyone agreed that the organizations must increase the amount of start-up capital they give if they expect the women to make a new life outside of the sex trade. They also explained that currently, banks require people to state what they do as a profession in order to borrow money, so setting up a financial institution specifically for the women from which they can get loans would be extremely beneficial. Next, the women insisted that teaching them business skills is of the utmost importance because even with a million shillings, if they do not know how to run a business, it will fail. During the interviews, I learned that one participant owned a bar and a salon and, unlike many of her colleagues, had the economic support of her husband, but she still had to resort to sex work to make ends meet. She and the ladies in the focus group discussions all asserted that they need to be taught how to control their money once they get it. The women also suggested that the organizations follow up with them once they have established their own businesses. This way, organizations can evaluate the growth of the women’s businesses and give additional suggestions or encourage them to make changes, if necessary.