Political Leaders: Perceptions
Views of Sex Workers and Clients
Based on this study, people at the grassroots level of government perceive sex workers in a harsher manner than people at higher levels of government. When asked to respond to the question “How do you view sex workers? Are they victims of circumstance or just looking for easy money?” the male and female LC 1s responded that sex workers just do their work to get easy money. On the other hand, the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity stated that “prostitution is not a choice, very often it is circumstantial” and explained that the way he views sex workers depends on the situation. He categorized sex workers as victims of circumstance if they went to the streets because unscrupulous persons forced them into that situation or they had no other way to earn a living and support their families. He went on to explain that some people, such as university students who want additional money which their families cannot provide, do sex work by choice rather than out of necessity, and he placed these people into the “easy money” category. When discussing whether sex workers or their clients act more immorally, the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity again said it depends on the two situations. In his view, when a woman does sex work out of necessity or a forced situation, the blame rests with the exploiters; however, when she has a quality education, a nice home and enough food to eat but chooses to go to the streets, “that one is totally blame worthy [and] it’s a very heavy loss of humanity”. In the eyes of the male LC 1, the sex worker acts more immorally than her client because she chooses to present herself as a commodity and brands herself in a way to attract customers. The female LC 1 also stated that the sex workers act more immorally because they have gotten so used to taking clients and have lost their sense of shame. Government officials at the lower levels view sex workers in a harsher manner and have less of an understanding of the complexity of the issue of sex work than officials in offices which have more power.
Human Rights and Discrimination
When discussing human rights and discrimination, the political leaders gave mixed responses, though overall, the LC 1s again showed relatively less sympathy for sex workers than the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity. The male LC 1 disagreed with the idea that, while on the job, sex workers face human rights abuses in the form of rape, robbery and police brutality and asserted that “they don’t have any rights to be protected”. The female LC1 simply stated that she did not believe sex workers face human rights abuses while the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity said “If they are abused…I can only be sympathetic because they shouldn’t have been there…they are putting themselves in that situation”. When discussing issues of health and treatment for HIV/AIDS, all political leaders agreed that health workers have an obligation to treat sex workers regardless of how they fell ill. In terms of discrimination from law enforcement officers, the male LC1 stated that the police should not file sex workers’ cases due to the illegality of their work and also made the comment that the complaints sex workers make usually have to do with customers not paying them. The female LC1 did not comment on how police should deal with the cases sex workers bring to them. On the other hand, the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity expressed his disapproval at the fact that police officers sometimes refuse to file cases sex workers bring to them stating, “every human being, according to this Constitution, has rights…we’re saying nobody should be discriminated in any situation…so if a prostitute has a complaint to make and goes to the police, the police must…take her case and follow it up. Justice must be done…”. Government officials at the grassroots level afforded sex workers fewer rights than officials at higher levels, though all agreed that health care providers must treat sex workers.
The Role of the State and Religious Institutions
The political leaders gave more uniform answers when asked to give their opinions on the role that religious and state institutions should play in assisting sex workers. Interestingly, all stated that religious leaders should preach to sex workers but no one mentioned that religious institutions and leaders could or should assist these women in more tangible, material ways. The representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity went on to explain that he blames religious leaders for the moral decadence he sees in society because “it is like preachers have lowered their fire, their energy. It is like there is no longer that thundering voice of a preacher who condemns…denounces immorality and [puts] people to shame…everything has been taken so softly and we have lost really a standing up of strong, loud preachers". When discussing the role the state should play in assisting sex workers both LC 1s agreed that the state should not provide any services; rather, it should limit itself to enforcing prohibition of sex work. The representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity stated that the government should focus on rehabilitating this population by “[pulling] them out of that environment and [changing] the style of life” and went on to explain that the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development has a department which aims to rehabilitate prostitutes from the streets and the brothels. I tried to find more information about this program, but on the occasions when I went to the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development, the official in charge of this program was not present. Due to time constraints, I did not have an opportunity to follow up on this program. Political leaders unanimously agreed that religious officials have an obligation to preach to sex workers though their views on the state’s responsibilities toward this population varied based on the level of government at which they operated.
Dialogue
No forum for dialogue exists between sex workers and the government. The male LC 1 simply responded that he does not dialogue with sex workers. The female LC1 stated that various non-governmental organizations have a forum for dialogue with this population but did not answer whether she, or any other government official, talks to these women or listens to their concerns. The representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity explained that they do not have a forum for dialogue because the Ministry “[condemns] it in the strongest” and the government and prostitutes “are enemies to each other”. The Ministry only tells sex workers “go home, don’t prostitute” and sends some people to inform sex workers about “civil society organizations…who are sympathetic” in order to “help [prostitutes] come out of that situation”. Currently, no lines of communication exist between sex workers and government officials.
Based on this study, people at the grassroots level of government perceive sex workers in a harsher manner than people at higher levels of government. When asked to respond to the question “How do you view sex workers? Are they victims of circumstance or just looking for easy money?” the male and female LC 1s responded that sex workers just do their work to get easy money. On the other hand, the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity stated that “prostitution is not a choice, very often it is circumstantial” and explained that the way he views sex workers depends on the situation. He categorized sex workers as victims of circumstance if they went to the streets because unscrupulous persons forced them into that situation or they had no other way to earn a living and support their families. He went on to explain that some people, such as university students who want additional money which their families cannot provide, do sex work by choice rather than out of necessity, and he placed these people into the “easy money” category. When discussing whether sex workers or their clients act more immorally, the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity again said it depends on the two situations. In his view, when a woman does sex work out of necessity or a forced situation, the blame rests with the exploiters; however, when she has a quality education, a nice home and enough food to eat but chooses to go to the streets, “that one is totally blame worthy [and] it’s a very heavy loss of humanity”. In the eyes of the male LC 1, the sex worker acts more immorally than her client because she chooses to present herself as a commodity and brands herself in a way to attract customers. The female LC 1 also stated that the sex workers act more immorally because they have gotten so used to taking clients and have lost their sense of shame. Government officials at the lower levels view sex workers in a harsher manner and have less of an understanding of the complexity of the issue of sex work than officials in offices which have more power.
Human Rights and Discrimination
When discussing human rights and discrimination, the political leaders gave mixed responses, though overall, the LC 1s again showed relatively less sympathy for sex workers than the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity. The male LC 1 disagreed with the idea that, while on the job, sex workers face human rights abuses in the form of rape, robbery and police brutality and asserted that “they don’t have any rights to be protected”. The female LC1 simply stated that she did not believe sex workers face human rights abuses while the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity said “If they are abused…I can only be sympathetic because they shouldn’t have been there…they are putting themselves in that situation”. When discussing issues of health and treatment for HIV/AIDS, all political leaders agreed that health workers have an obligation to treat sex workers regardless of how they fell ill. In terms of discrimination from law enforcement officers, the male LC1 stated that the police should not file sex workers’ cases due to the illegality of their work and also made the comment that the complaints sex workers make usually have to do with customers not paying them. The female LC1 did not comment on how police should deal with the cases sex workers bring to them. On the other hand, the representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity expressed his disapproval at the fact that police officers sometimes refuse to file cases sex workers bring to them stating, “every human being, according to this Constitution, has rights…we’re saying nobody should be discriminated in any situation…so if a prostitute has a complaint to make and goes to the police, the police must…take her case and follow it up. Justice must be done…”. Government officials at the grassroots level afforded sex workers fewer rights than officials at higher levels, though all agreed that health care providers must treat sex workers.
The Role of the State and Religious Institutions
The political leaders gave more uniform answers when asked to give their opinions on the role that religious and state institutions should play in assisting sex workers. Interestingly, all stated that religious leaders should preach to sex workers but no one mentioned that religious institutions and leaders could or should assist these women in more tangible, material ways. The representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity went on to explain that he blames religious leaders for the moral decadence he sees in society because “it is like preachers have lowered their fire, their energy. It is like there is no longer that thundering voice of a preacher who condemns…denounces immorality and [puts] people to shame…everything has been taken so softly and we have lost really a standing up of strong, loud preachers". When discussing the role the state should play in assisting sex workers both LC 1s agreed that the state should not provide any services; rather, it should limit itself to enforcing prohibition of sex work. The representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity stated that the government should focus on rehabilitating this population by “[pulling] them out of that environment and [changing] the style of life” and went on to explain that the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development has a department which aims to rehabilitate prostitutes from the streets and the brothels. I tried to find more information about this program, but on the occasions when I went to the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development, the official in charge of this program was not present. Due to time constraints, I did not have an opportunity to follow up on this program. Political leaders unanimously agreed that religious officials have an obligation to preach to sex workers though their views on the state’s responsibilities toward this population varied based on the level of government at which they operated.
Dialogue
No forum for dialogue exists between sex workers and the government. The male LC 1 simply responded that he does not dialogue with sex workers. The female LC1 stated that various non-governmental organizations have a forum for dialogue with this population but did not answer whether she, or any other government official, talks to these women or listens to their concerns. The representative from the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity explained that they do not have a forum for dialogue because the Ministry “[condemns] it in the strongest” and the government and prostitutes “are enemies to each other”. The Ministry only tells sex workers “go home, don’t prostitute” and sends some people to inform sex workers about “civil society organizations…who are sympathetic” in order to “help [prostitutes] come out of that situation”. Currently, no lines of communication exist between sex workers and government officials.