“It was either selling my body or watching my elderly mother and myself die from hunger. As hard as it is for many to believe, it is very possible to not have a choice”. These were the sentiments shared by a teary-eyed Chipo (pseudo name), a young 20-year-old sex worker in Hopely, Harare.

Hopely is situated on the edge of the southern parts of Harare and the community is laden with history of evictions and demolitions. It is characterized by poor households, many of the people having being displaced from informal settlements and brought to new settlements. The area is densely populated and synonymous with poverty, limited basic services, and high unemployment, majority of the residents surviving on informal employment, Matanda (2020).

Growing up, Chipo was raised by a single mother, who struggled to make ends meet. For nights on end, she and her family went to bed on empty stomachs. During the day, whilst other young children her age where in school, young barefoot Chipo helped her mother pick firewood in Glennorah for sell in Hopely. This was the family’s main economic activity. She reports that on a good day they made approximately $2 which was enough to purchase a day’s worth of mealie-meal, commonly known in the local language as “tsaona” and vegetables. One meal a day was the norm. By a stroke of luck, a neighbor referred Chipo’s mother to an American Donor called Jane, who was funding orphans and out of school children with school fees and food aid. At age 7, she was enrolled at a private school in Waterfalls called Frank Johnson, where she schooled from grade 1 to grade 7. Jane provided all the necessities needed for school, including clothes and food. The fact that she continuously scored good grades ensured that she secured scholarship through to High School. Unfortunately, Chipo and her family lost contact with Jane when she was in form 3 and this unfortunate situation saw her drop out of school. “It never rains but pours. The events that followed after my dropping out of school were a series of unfortunate incidents”, she reports. Chipo’s mother fell ill and her older siblings left the family house, leaving her to tend to her mother alone, despite being the youngest child. Her mother’s sister, who was a few years younger, then encouraged Chipo to start sex work as a form of making a living.

“It is either this or you die”, Chipo quotes her aunt. She reports that this is how she was introduced to sex work. “I was just 15 when I first went to Saratoga Bar at Machipisa, with a condom I did not know how to use in my hand. The only instruction I had received was that after securing a client, I was to hand over the condom to him and ask him to wear it, after which I would allow him to have sex with me, in whichever way he desired, and charge him $5 after 20 minutes”. Chipo recounts feeling anxious and afraid but willing as 2 days had passed without having a meal. She states that her first client was 23 years old and that fortunately for her, because he was a young man he was gentle with her. “I remember him asking me why I was giving away my virginity for just $5”.  With the first $5 she had earned; she was able to purchase a few basic food groceries and some medication for her mother. “It was the feeling of being able to provide a warm meal and medication for my mother that helped me to endure the searing pain I felt between my legs. I resolved to give myself 4 days to recover, based on my aunt’s advice, after which I would return to the street and sell my body for more money. I no longer had a choice. I had last seen my father when I was 4, my aunt and my mother were the only family that cared about that I had left. Jane was gone. Nobody else would give me the help I needed. This was the fastest way to make a lot of money and I took it. With time came experience and I began to know how to use condoms and morning after pills to protect myself from contracting HIV and STIs as well as unwanted pregnancies”. In addressing how she was able to deal with her mental and emotional stress Chipo reported that it was not an easy process, that she constantly self-judged but forced herself to not dwell on it as this was her only choice. She further added that her life had changed for the better financially once she started sex work, so this motivated her to go on. A year into sex work she met a man whom she got married to and got pregnant at 16. However, the marriage did not last, she was only married for 6 months, in which she faced emotional abuse from her in-laws which contributed to her getting into a premature labour that led to a still-birth. The result of this was her getting sent back to her family, where she continued trading in sex work. Currently, Chipo has one child, whom she looks after with the money she gets from sex work.

Chipo stated that she has faced many challenges, living and working as a young sex worker including gender based violence, inhumane and undignified treatment from some of her clients who require her to agree to being choked, chained or whipped. Some clients refuse to pay after receiving services and in some cases harass her and call her derogatory names. She explained that working during Covid 19 lockdowns is especially difficult because there are not many clients and many people are not going to work so the usual charge of $5 for “short-time” services decrease to $2 or $1 in some cases.  According to the UNAIDS (2021), Zimbabwe is one of 103 countries worldwide in which sex work is criminalized, thus making it difficult for Chipo to report some of these abuses to law enforcers in the country.

The Youth Hub in Hopley – dignified lives and decent livelihoods for young people project is targeting to support young people with a similar experience as Chipo through providing them with livelihood options and strengthening their economic capacity whilst they positively engage with their duty bearers on provision of basic public services. Through the project, Chipo will be trained on an economic empowerment generating trade project, from which she can use to generate a steady income. Not only will Chipo have knowledge of a skill set that cushions her financially, but she will also be protected from the gender-based violence and inhumane treatment she faces in the street.