Empowering Malawi sex workers

Earning a living as a sex worker is popular among some young women in Malawi.

At night, streets in the major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba become a hive of activity for young women thronging the hotels, casino and popular pubs to seduce seduce men  to have transactional sex.

The reasons behind their entry into the old age trade, most of whom argue, is not for pleasure or entertainment, but poverty and lack of parental care.

Lucia Triphonia (not her real name) from Mpiyama Village, Traditional Authority Nchilamwera in Thyolo, found herself in the trade at the age of 19. 

Her father’s relations compounded the situation further when they grabbed every asset left by the deceased, leaving the children in destitute.

She recalls: “This forced me to start having sex with men in exchange for things which could not be provided by my mother. In the end, I became pregnant and dropped out of Standard 7 at Nachipere Primary School in Thyolo and married the man who was responsible for the pregnancy.

“Unfortunately, the marriage did not last long because he had another wife with whom he had three children.”  

Out of desperation, Triphonia, now 23, left the child in the care of her mother and moved to Luchenza Township to seek employment.

“I went to a certain bar where I met a lady named Zione. She introduced me to her female boss. After narrating my story to her, she advised me to become sex worker which I cordially accepted,” she confesses

Since 2019, Triphonia has criss-crossed the country, offering sex for money and other basic needs for her survival.

The case of Triphonia is not isolated in Malawi. Available data from African Institute for Development Policy (Afidep) says as of 2017, Malawi had approximately more than 32 000 sex workers and the figures might have escalated at the time of going to print.

However, a 2010 United Nations Population Fund study titled ‘Empowering Young Sex Workers for Safer Sex in Dowa and Lilongwe Districts of Malawi, indicates that not all women like Triphonia are happy such that given other options, they would abandon the work for something meaningful. 

Concerned about the development, a rights of women and girls non-governmental organisation, People Saving Girls at Risk (PSGR), has embarked on a six-year ‘creating space for survivors’ project to empower female sex workers with skills for viable income generating activities [IGAs].

The project, a consortium of five countries, namely  India, Nepal, South Africa, France and Malawi, is bankrolled by a French organisation, Pellon Bellon.

PSGR team leader Caleb Ng’ombo says the project also looks at victims of human trafficking, child marriages and child labour.

“Our core purpose is to empower these vulnerable groups with vocational and other skills they can use to generate income to reduce their susceptibility to sex work, early marriages or child labour,” he explains.

Similarly, Bertha Ngwazi (not her real name), who has practiced sex work for three years, says she yearns to find an alternative source of generating income which can be appreciated by her relations.

“Right now, I do not visit my relatives and they do not even know where I am for fear of reprisals. But if I can acquire such vocational skills like brick laying or carpentry and joinery, I am hopeful that I can find a better job,” she says.

Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare spokesperson Fred Simwaka praises PGSR for empowering sex workers with technical and vocational skills.

He observes that the initiative complements government’s efforts in uplifting the social and economic status of vulnerable women in Malawi.