FEATURE:Sex workers urges for peaceful environment as they get enlighten on safety and security.
One of the streets in Kisumu City.Sex workers urges for peaceful environment in the line of their duties as they become concerned with their safety and security-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo.
By Dickson Odhiambo.
September 19, 2017.
Sex workers urges for peaceful environment as they get enlightened on safety and security.
WHEN the Supreme Court of Kenya on September 1 this year declared the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta null and void because the electoral body did not conduct the August 8 2017 polls in accordance to the constitution and other election related laws and ordered for a repeat of a Presidential election within 60 days, this was as a shy of relief for majority of Kenyans who were seen celebrating in most parts of the country.
The ruling which came barely a day after a group of sex workers both from Kisii and Kisumu counties held a meeting in Kisumu while raising serious security concerns in the line of their duties might have also been a shy of relief for the sex workers who might have also celebrated the ruling.
A lobby group known as Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance{KISWA} convened a meeting on Thursday August 31 2017 to sensitize the sex workers both from Kisumu and Kisii Counties on the importance of their safety and security in the line of their duties.
The sex workers might have also celebrated the ruling because immediately the Electoral body announced Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee as the winner of the Presidential election held on August 8, post poll protests occurred in some parts of the country including Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Kibera in Nairobi among others and a number of sex workers interviewed says the post poll protest really interfered with their work and would not like such like a thing to re-occur.
A sex worker from Nyalenda slums in Kisumu who has requested anonymity says the post poll protests greatly interfered with her work as a sex worker because her movement to Kisumu’s Central Business District was restricted since the heavy presence of anti-riot police did not allow easy movement to the CBD.
She says anti-riot police presence in Nyalenda area also hampered their work during the recent post poll protest because she and her colleagues could not move easy since the environment was not very conducive for their work, adding that peaceful environment is very much key for their work to thrive and without this their work will be meaningless.
She adds that some of them were sexually harassed as well as being raped during the post poll protests, adding that this came as a result of lack of conducive working environment for them.
She says she has been staying in Kisumu since the year 1989 where she re-located from Nairobi where she learnt to be a commercial sex worker, adding that she was working as a house maid in Nairobi where later a lady approached and told her that there was a well paying job than what she was doing then.
She adds that after thinking for a while, she had to quit her house maid job and join her colleague working as a waitress in one of the pubs in Nairobi, adding that after working for a while, she join the commercial sex business.
She says her work revolves around going to near bars, restaurants and clubs where she waits for her clients, adding that this is not an easy task to do.
She says her four children are going to school and she is supporting them financially because of being in the commercial sex “industry”.
She says the most memorable event about her work was when she was in Nairobi and met a client who took her to Ngong area and wanted to kill her only to escape by a whisker when naked, adding that she walked naked up to a nearby police station where a female police officer clothed her.
However, she acknowledges that the commercial sex workers nowadays are enlightened on various issues like their safety and security where they are considering their safety and security first, adding that they move around in groups and ensure that they are safe at all time.
For Moraa who has been nicknamed the “President of Sex workers” because of her huge body size says she has really survived as a sex worker in Kisii and Narok towns.
She says majority of sex workers face harassment from a number of people including some police officers and boda boda operators.
“This business is not all that easy because there are a number of challenges that include failure to have conducive environment to operate,” she says.
She says even in the community, sex workers are viewed differently due to some society norms, adding that due to her huge body size she has been ridiculed while being asked why she is in that “business”.
Due to what the sex workers term as constant harassment from various people, they were recently sensitized on the issue of their safety and security.
Through a lobby group Known as Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance {KISWA}, the sex workers from Kisumu and Kisii Counties claim a number of them are being allegedly harassed by security forces while in the line of their duties.
Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance Director Dotty Agala says even during the recent post poll protests in Kisumu and parts of Nyanza region, some sex workers were harassed during the protests.
She says some of the sex workers lost their valuables like phones and monies were taken away from them.
She says they are now majorly concerned with their security and safety after what befell most of them during the recent post poll protests.
They urge the police to ensure that they are safe and their lives and property are protected just like any other Kenyan.
“We are majorly concerned with the issue of our safety and security in a meeting we have held especially during the post poll protest and during this presidential election petition period and want to ensure that sex workers are safe and secure wherever they are and our meeting is to get assurance from the security forces that we will also be secure,” she says.
She says the Alliance will continue to sensitize sex workers across the region on the issues of their safety and their security.
Agala says they have a hot line number which the sex workers can use to call whenever they have issues of safety and security.
She urges the sex workers not to go to unknown areas even if they get clients in those unknown areas places whenever they feel they are not safe and secure.
“Article 29 of the Constitution talks about right to freedom and security of a person and just like any other Kenyan, we should get protection from the state security and we have told this to the police who attended our meeting on sensitizing our members on their safety and security,” she adds.
Lucy Wambui, a lawyer who works with the Kenya Sex Workers Alliance {KESWA} which is an umbrella body that encompasses Community Based Organizations which advocates for the rights of sex workers in the country says they do a lot of advocacy at the national level and works with such CBOs at the grass root level to sensitize sex workers on their rights.
She says KESWA always have an input on policies affecting sex workers across the country.
Wambui adds that they also do a lot of capacity building on the sex workers through their various CBOs at the grass root level across the country.
She says there are a number of cases of sex workers who have been harassed, raped and even murdered in various regions across the country.
She says they have even received cases of security personnel including the police and even the County Government askaris harassing the sex workers.
She urges the newly elected Lawmakers to ensure that when making laws, they should ensure that they think about the sex workers and make policies which also includes their concerns, adding that the sex workers should also be consulted and participate in dialoguing on policies which will affect their lives just like any other Kenyans.
“Other than capacity building of sex workers, we also do funds mobilizations for the CBOs which deal with the issues of sex workers,” she says.
ENDS:
WHEN the Supreme Court of Kenya on September 1 this year declared the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta null and void because the electoral body did not conduct the August 8 2017 polls in accordance to the constitution and other election related laws and ordered for a repeat of a Presidential election within 60 days, this was as a shy of relief for majority of Kenyans who were seen celebrating in most parts of the country.
The ruling which came barely a day after a group of sex workers both from Kisii and Kisumu counties held a meeting in Kisumu while raising serious security concerns in the line of their duties might have also been a shy of relief for the sex workers who might have also celebrated the ruling.
A lobby group known as Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance{KISWA} convened a meeting on Thursday August 31 2017 to sensitize the sex workers both from Kisumu and Kisii Counties on the importance of their safety and security in the line of their duties.
The sex workers might have also celebrated the ruling because immediately the Electoral body announced Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee as the winner of the Presidential election held on August 8, post poll protests occurred in some parts of the country including Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Kibera in Nairobi among others and a number of sex workers interviewed says the post poll protest really interfered with their work and would not like such like a thing to re-occur.
A sex worker from Nyalenda slums in Kisumu who has requested anonymity says the post poll protests greatly interfered with her work as a sex worker because her movement to Kisumu’s Central Business District was restricted since the heavy presence of anti-riot police did not allow easy movement to the CBD.
She says anti-riot police presence in Nyalenda area also hampered their work during the recent post poll protest because she and her colleagues could not move easy since the environment was not very conducive for their work, adding that peaceful environment is very much key for their work to thrive and without this their work will be meaningless.
She adds that some of them were sexually harassed as well as being raped during the post poll protests, adding that this came as a result of lack of conducive working environment for them.
She says she has been staying in Kisumu since the year 1989 where she re-located from Nairobi where she learnt to be a commercial sex worker, adding that she was working as a house maid in Nairobi where later a lady approached and told her that there was a well paying job than what she was doing then.
She adds that after thinking for a while, she had to quit her house maid job and join her colleague working as a waitress in one of the pubs in Nairobi, adding that after working for a while, she join the commercial sex business.
She says her work revolves around going to near bars, restaurants and clubs where she waits for her clients, adding that this is not an easy task to do.
She says her four children are going to school and she is supporting them financially because of being in the commercial sex “industry”.
She says the most memorable event about her work was when she was in Nairobi and met a client who took her to Ngong area and wanted to kill her only to escape by a whisker when naked, adding that she walked naked up to a nearby police station where a female police officer clothed her.
However, she acknowledges that the commercial sex workers nowadays are enlightened on various issues like their safety and security where they are considering their safety and security first, adding that they move around in groups and ensure that they are safe at all time.
For Moraa who has been nicknamed the “President of Sex workers” because of her huge body size says she has really survived as a sex worker in Kisii and Narok towns.
She says majority of sex workers face harassment from a number of people including some police officers and boda boda operators.
“This business is not all that easy because there are a number of challenges that include failure to have conducive environment to operate,” she says.
She says even in the community, sex workers are viewed differently due to some society norms, adding that due to her huge body size she has been ridiculed while being asked why she is in that “business”.
Due to what the sex workers term as constant harassment from various people, they were recently sensitized on the issue of their safety and security.
Through a lobby group Known as Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance {KISWA}, the sex workers from Kisumu and Kisii Counties claim a number of them are being allegedly harassed by security forces while in the line of their duties.
Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance Director Dotty Agala says even during the recent post poll protests in Kisumu and parts of Nyanza region, some sex workers were harassed during the protests.
She says some of the sex workers lost their valuables like phones and monies were taken away from them.
She says they are now majorly concerned with their security and safety after what befell most of them during the recent post poll protests.
They urge the police to ensure that they are safe and their lives and property are protected just like any other Kenyan.
“We are majorly concerned with the issue of our safety and security in a meeting we have held especially during the post poll protest and during this presidential election petition period and want to ensure that sex workers are safe and secure wherever they are and our meeting is to get assurance from the security forces that we will also be secure,” she says.
She says the Alliance will continue to sensitize sex workers across the region on the issues of their safety and their security.
Agala says they have a hot line number which the sex workers can use to call whenever they have issues of safety and security.
She urges the sex workers not to go to unknown areas even if they get clients in those unknown areas places whenever they feel they are not safe and secure.
“Article 29 of the Constitution talks about right to freedom and security of a person and just like any other Kenyan, we should get protection from the state security and we have told this to the police who attended our meeting on sensitizing our members on their safety and security,” she adds.
Lucy Wambui, a lawyer who works with the Kenya Sex Workers Alliance {KESWA} which is an umbrella body that encompasses Community Based Organizations which advocates for the rights of sex workers in the country says they do a lot of advocacy at the national level and works with such CBOs at the grass root level to sensitize sex workers on their rights.
She says KESWA always have an input on policies affecting sex workers across the country.
Wambui adds that they also do a lot of capacity building on the sex workers through their various CBOs at the grass root level across the country.
She says there are a number of cases of sex workers who have been harassed, raped and even murdered in various regions across the country.
She says they have even received cases of security personnel including the police and even the County Government askaris harassing the sex workers.
She urges the newly elected Lawmakers to ensure that when making laws, they should ensure that they think about the sex workers and make policies which also includes their concerns, adding that the sex workers should also be consulted and participate in dialoguing on policies which will affect their lives just like any other Kenyans.
“Other than capacity building of sex workers, we also do funds mobilizations for the CBOs which deal with the issues of sex workers,” she says.
ENDS:
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