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Female sex workers continue facing discrimination

by Lesotho Times
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…while their clients are treated as holy cows

‘Mathatisi Sebusi

FRIDAY’s commemoration of the Zero Discrimination Day by the United Nations, was a grim reminder that Lesotho’s key populations, especially sex workers, continue to suffer prejudice from both their clients and society at large.

This is despite concerted efforts by global bodies like UNAIDS to end discrimination in all its forms for better health outcomes and towards eradicating new HIV infections.

Lesotho is yet to effectively impart education to citizens on the importance of embracing everyone regardless of the nature of their work, social status, or sexuality, according to Key Affected Populations Alliance of Lesotho (KAPAL) director, Lepheane Mosooane.

The theme for this year’s Zero Discrimination Day 2024 was: ‘To protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights’.

Zero Discrimination Day is marked every year on March 1 by the UN and other international organisations. The day is observed by all UN member countries. It aims to promote equality before the law.

KAPAL marked the day by convening a workshop for local authorities including chiefs and councillors, to sensitise them on the rights of sex workers. The organisation hoped to enlist their support in the fight against abuse and violation of sex workers’ rights.

Mr Mosooane said because of the abuse and human rights violations sex workers faced every day, their sector accounted for the highest HIV prevalence in the country.

According to Mr Mosooane, sex workers were blamed and discriminated against by their communities, while their clients were treated like holy cows despite participating in the business.

“We are here to talk about these challenges and look into what role we can play in protecting sex workers and ensuring that they are treated like everyone else,” Mr Mosooane said.

“It is important to learn about their lives and line of work so that we can effectively protect and serve them.”

A case in point is one of the workshop’s attendees, Thato*, a Maseru based sex worker who told the Sunday Express that their lives on the streets were endangered, due to the daily abuse and violation of their rights mostly by their clients.

She narrated one incident, where she had an agreement with a client, who took her to his house after agreeing to pay her M350 for sex the whole night.

But she said come payment time, the client bluntly refused to pay her. He instead mobilised community members against her, who harassed and humiliated her.

According to Thato such incidents were common. She said they were raped, physically abused, and discriminated against not only by clients but also police, health service providers, and members of their communities.

Mabote Electoral Division councillor, Moboletsi Mabote, said before the event, she was neither aware that sex work was common in Lesotho nor that sex workers were discriminated against.

Having gained understanding about the existence of sex workers in the country, how they operate and the abuse and discrimination they are subjected to, Ms Mabote undertook to do all in her power to “protect and treat them as I do everybody else”.

She said with the training she “will be able to effectively handle issues of sex workers” from the community level “where abuse has occurred, or crime is committed”.

Meanwhile, Lesotho’s National Aids Commission (NAC) aligned itself with the theme of this year’s commemoration of the Zero Discrimination Day.

It said in a statement that laws, policies, and practices that punish, discriminate against, and stigmatize women and girls, key populations, and other marginalized communities “violate human rights and obstruct access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care”.

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