A group of sex workers have joined a consortium of activists to advocate against gender-based violence against women and girls in Uganda
Under their umbrella organisation The Alliance of women to advocate for change, they accused police officers of abusing the sex workers.
Addressing journalists in Kampala on Wednesday, one of the sex workers, Maclean Kyomya said sex work is one of the oldest professions in Uganda
“One thing we know is that sex work is the oldest profession probably older than even agriculture. It is immoral but the reality is it’s within us, people are into sex work, people are surviving on sex work,” she said.
She said sex workers are equally contributing to the national economy just like other workers.
“There is sexual harassment. They rape sex workers of course without pay, they also extort monies from them, at one point in time, we had police officers who would go into the trash or the rooms and get condoms and use them and say we are taking you, we are using these as exhibits,” she narrated.
She noted that though currently prostitution in Uganda is illegal they are not going to remain silent about the continuous violation of their rights.
“Because the situation is harsh but you are a sex worker. You can also be rapped, some of the questions are really traumatizing and people chose to swallow but also by culture and religion, a woman you are supposed to put water in your mouth and you know when you put water in your mouth, it means you can’t talk; so is the way of asking us to keep quite but we are saying enough is enough,” she said.
On Wednesday, some sex workers joined a consortium of activists to advocate for violence against women and girls including women living with HIV/AIDS.
Olivia Wabwire, the commissioner of police said; “We need to protect them further but that will call for more services like feeding them, giving them fair justice.”
The queen mother of Alur Kingdom Rotzett Keronega Namisi revealed her public HIV status as she vowed to fight violence against women and girls.
“This is my first time, I am going to tell you, I have been living with the virus for the last as long as my youngest son, I was transfused immediately after my son was born, my son is now the king,” she said.