Juvenile sex work flourish in Esigodini

By Bekezela Mguni

Nozipo Moyo (15) lives in Esigodini, a township lying 44.5 kilometres from Bulawayo along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway. Nozipo engages in sex work to earn a living. She says sex work is the only form of work that she knows.

Esigodini township in Matabeleland province has become a haven for juvenile sex workers who target free spending gold panners. Photo: Bekezela Mguni

“I am the last born in my family. When I was born, my parents were already advanced in age. My two sisters and three brothers have moved out to start their own families. I am now staying with my father and mother. My parents are not working and they now depend on me for their needs. My siblings are struggling to support their own families,” says Nozipo.

Nozipo is an IsiNdebele name that can be translated to “Mother of all gifts”. Nozipo says her elderly parents now take her as their gift meant to provide for all the family’s needs.

Nozipo patronises local beer drinking outlets. This is where she gets her clients. Many of her customers are free spending illegal gold miners.

Sex work is risky business where violence is rife especially in gold panning areas like Esigodini.

“At times these gold panners are generous and can pay handsomely for sex. However, they can also be violent and cruel. They can beat us and send us away without paying for services. There is no option for reporting because we fear reprisals from other gold panners if we bring in the police,” says Nozipo.

Nozipo says owners of beer outlets provide space for sex workers to entertain their clients. These ‘business people’ also take advantage of juveniles to make more money.

“Young girls like us attract more customers so we engage business owners to give us space. It is safer than going to camps established by gold panners. However, some business owners can charge exorbitantly if they see us with clients who have a lot of money. At times these unscrupulous business people use violence to take the money,” says Nozipo.

Nozipo says it takes courage to get involved in sex work.

“Some of my clients are as old as my father. This makes it difficult to demand payment for services rendered. I encounter violence and diseases on a daily basis. I no longer fear these things as long my family does not sleep on empty stomachs. I also get to spoil myself, something that my parents could not do for me,” says Nozipo.

Shepherd Dube (25) is a church youth leader at Disciplined Disciples in Christ ministries (DDC), a local Pentecostal church based in Esigodini. Shepherd says as much as he blames young girls for engaging in sex work, the biggest challenge facing young people in Esigodini was high unemployment levels.

“If the economic environment was good no child would take the risk of engaging in sex work for a living. If parents were able to provide for their families, they would be strict on their children and ensure that children focus on education rather than work. Unfortunately the children have already tasted this kind of life so it will be difficult to stop them even if the situation improves,” says Shepherd.

Finogayi Ngwenya (34) is a concerned parent living in a village six kilometres north of Esigodini. A number of girls from his village have joined sex work. Finogayi puts the blame squarely on parents who are failing to take care of their children.

“When I was growing up my parents never allowed me and my sisters to bring food. They never allowed us to receive gifts from strangers. But some parents here are now accepting groceries from their young children. They do not care to ask where the groceries are coming from. Young girls are allowed to go out at night. This is unacceptable and dereliction of duty on the part of the parents,” says Finogayi.

Finogayi says Esigodini is now slowly turning into the biblical Sodom and Gomora because of irresponsible parents who are failing to provide for their families.

With the ongoing global Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the climate crisis deepening poverty in the country, more girls are flocking to join sex work in order to contribute towards the survival of their families.

This article was written as part of the Creative Centre for Communication and Development (CCCD) project that seeks to strengthen the voices of women and girls, especially under the grim impact of the Coronavirus (COVID 19). CCCD has used the WhatsApp mobile application to train women and girls so that they express their voices on what is happening in their communities