Sex workers group asks NGOs for funds report
The sex workers were exposed to violence by their clients due to sex work-related characteristics, alcohol use, illicit drug use, and HIV status. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Speaking at the national symposium on sexual reproductive health and HIV/Aids in Kampala yesterday, Mr Moses Devine, the programme officer of the organisation, said the sex workers are not contented with the quality of services that NGOs offer them.
The Uganda Network of Key Populations Service Organisation, a network of sex workers’ bodies in the country, has demanded that NGOs account for donor funds.
Speaking at the national symposium on sexual reproductive health and HIV/Aids in Kampala yesterday, Mr Moses Devine, the programme officer of the organisation, said the sex workers are not contented with the quality of services that NGOs offer them.
“If you know something is not working, why are you still investing in it? You need to be accountable to the donor and the constituency you claim to serve. The needs of the sex worker in an urban centre are different from those of a sex worker in rural areas,” he said.
Mr Devine said sex workers in urban areas face gender and sexual violence while those in rural areas need lubricants and contraceptives, which are in distant health centres.
The Rev Canon Gideon Byamugisha, the board chairperson of Uganet, the NGO which convened the symposium, urged other organisations to understand what drives sex workers into prostitution.
He said some religious leaders would be very happy to relate with prostitutes because they pay tithes.
According to a study published by the BMJ Journal titled ‘Client-Perpetrated Gender-Based Violence’ in February, researchers recommended that the Health ministry and other development partners should provide targeted public health interventions to prevent and manage the rampant gender-based violence among the sex workers.
“These measures could include creating awareness about legal and civil rights of sex workers, training street-based sex workers in self-defence, providing defensive items such as alarms and deterrent sprays to inform their peers of potentially violent clients,” the research states.
Sex work is not recognised under employment and labour laws yet it is a means of livelihood for many.
Human rights activists have advocated for the passing of the Sexual Offences Bill that would decriminalise sex work, saying criminalisation fosters violence and limits access to justice.
However, MPs rejected the proposals, maintaining prison sentences for sex workers, clients, and brothel keepers.
