Poverty is forcing girls in
Swaziland to drop out of school and become sex workers, according to a media
report.
The girls cannot afford
school fees or uniforms, so some drop out. Others stay at school but also work
as prostitutes, the Times of Swaziland reported
on Monday (18 September 2017).
The newspaper featured Gija
Emkhuzweni High School at Piggs Peak.
The Times reported, , ‘It has been revealed that even pupils in lower
classes at the school are engaging in such trade, with most of them blaming the
high poverty levels as the main reason.’
It said the school was
dealing with at least 30 disciplinary cases and that some of these included
alleged sex work.
It added, ‘The Head teacher
at the school, Sam Nxumalo said, the driving force for the alleged sex work was
mainly high levels of poverty in that some of the pupils cannot afford school
fees or uniform. They are then forced to resort to sex work.
‘He said in many cases,
affected pupils often live alone or with relatives who are not their biological
parents but only guardians.
‘Nxumalo not only confirmed
the allegations of some pupils engaging in sex work for “survival” but said it
was a concern because the pupils were dropping out of school,’ the Times said.
In August 2017, the Times reported that sex workers in Piggs Peak charged as little
as E30 (US$2) for their services.
In July 2017, police reported some parents
in Swaziland were letting
men have sex with their girl children to determine whether
they want to marry them. A police spokesman said parents were exploiting the
children ‘by using them as sex tools for quick marriages’.
In May 2017 it was reported that poverty-stricken parents of girls as young as fourteen were giving them to soldiers for sex in exchange for food.
See also
PARENTS TRADE OWN GIRLS FOR SEX
SOLDIERS SEX FOR FOOD WITH GIRLS, 14
POLICE DRIVE AGAINST SEX WORKERS
http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/police-drive-against-sex-workers.html
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