Prostitution rife in Lephalale

One irate man told Northern News that he almost caused an accident one night when a scantily-dressed woman got into his vehicle when he stopped at a red traffic light. He claims that the woman did not mince words and offered to have sex with him in exchange for money.
Northern News interviewed some of the alleged prostitutes along the road and were surprised to find they were open about their choice of work.
“I can’t find any other work and I have a family to feed,” says Maria*. She claims that she is 15-years-old and has been a prostitute for about two years. She says that the money is not always good and that she receives as little as R10 from some customers. She is HIV-positive and says that some of her customers include truck drivers and even local business men.
A Social Impact Assessment Study
published in May 2010 states that activities surrounding a construction project are generally associated with income, but is also often followed by prostitution. This is especially true in poor communities where the risk of spreading STDs, including HIV, increase dramatically.
It has also been documented that long-distance truck drivers are often associated with the spread of HIV because they make use of prostitution services.
According to the Lephalale Municipality’s Integrated Development Plan of 2014, the number of people in this area with HIV/Aids is 30.4% - with the highest number of infected people being teenage girls. The situation is worsened because most people only seek medical attention when they are at an advanced stage of ailment resulting in a high mortality rate for children and adults.
According to W/O Frans Mokoena of the Lephalale police, they have continued operations where they arrest any women who are suspected of working as prostitutes.
“We charge these workers with public indecency or prostitution depending on the circumstances,” he says. “It is important to remember that any person who is aware of the fact that they are HIV-positive and doesn’t disclose this information to a potential sexual partner can be charged with murder.”
The new Sexual Offence and Related Matters Amendment Act, 2007 (Act no 32 of 2007) obligates any person who knows that they are HIV-positive to inform their partner if they are practising unprotected sex.

* Names have been changed to protect their identity