User:SrLiam/Prostitution in Rwanda

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Prostitution is illegal in Rwanda. However, the countless loopholes and lack of enforcement has allowed for its normalization in society. While it often does not require concealment, most female sex work is disguised as domestic work. Polygamy and pawning are two common forms of sex work that have been prohibited, but are still commonly practiced. The Rwandan government has addressed prostitution as a national issue, blaming it on teenage delinquency. Their most prevalent form of regulation has been through increased education and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases. Rwanda currently faces an HIV dilemma resulting from the 1994 genocide, with the highest rates among women in urban areas, at 8.7%.

Refugee Camps
In refugee camps, prostitution is rampant. Refugees most commonly flee from surrounding countries such as Burundi, Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda. Power is held by self-appointed leaders and their influence holds more weight than the military enforcers. Under this framework, women are placed beneath men in the misogynistic hierarchy. Humanitarian workers do not have much influence and it is made worse that these workers also engage in sexual misconduct in return for their aid. Children have few opportunities with the difficulties in receiving education, lack of labor, and inability to protect themselves. Women who are head of the household are forced to engage in survival sex in order to support them and their families. Men are faced with limited employment and lack of aid leading to the increased usage of alcohol and other drugs. This, along with the absence of military enforcement within the camp, allows and perpetuates a cycle of sexual abuse and violence against women.

Every month in these camps, each refugee is given 6200 Rwandan Francs (RwF) —or about 8 USD ($0.25 USD per day). The money is usually held by the parents, in order to pool and manage the funds more effectively. However, issues sometimes arise when the funds are used to fuel the parents’ drug and alcohol addictions. Girls sell sex to boys and men in the camps in order to afford basic necessities such as food, clothing, or hygienic products. Many adolescent boys (similar age to these girls) are aware of the hardships these girls face and offer help when asked. Although downplayed as sympathetic acts of charity, the aid is often met with the expectation of sex.

There is constant threat of sexual violence against young women, whether it be within or outside the confinements of the camp. Children are often tasked with collecting and selling firewood from nearby forests or woods. However, these forests are commonplace for delinquents to meet and do drugs. There are multiple cases of young girls going to the forest and being sexually abused or raped by these men. Due to lack of enforcement, the men either face little to no consequences or run away. Children are also known to travel to nearby towns, exchanging sex for money, or clothing. With the frequent visitations to the local towns, cihldren are prone to be exposed to HIV and thereby contribute to its rise within the refugee camp.

HIV/AIDS
HIV has been a high priority issue of the Rwandan government for the past 30 years. During the genocide, radio stations encouraged the assault of Tutsi women, both physical and sexual. Hutu women who were married to Tutsi men were also targeted. It is estimated that 200,000 to 500,000 women were raped in the 100 period of the genocide. Hutu soldiers who were aware they had AIDS, intentionally raped women with the goal of infecting them. “AIDS is about twice as prevalent in Tutsi women who were raped during the genocide as in the general population, where one in four people are infected”. There has been nationwide health problems from the atrocities of the genocide. Many of the women who were raped never sought any type of medical help. This lead to many women having health issues down the line, including chronic pain, hernias, heart disease, etc.

Currently, 3% in the general population has HIV- 2.2% in men versus 3.7% in women. Percentages are highest among women in urban areas, at 8.7%. New HIV infections are estimated to be 6,000 per year. Multiple organizations have been created in effort to combat the HIV epidemic, including the National Program for the Fight against AIDS (PNLS), National AIDS Commission (CNLS), Treatment and Research AIDS Centre Plus (TRAC Plus), and District AIDS committees (CDLS). One slogan currently being used is the “ABC” strategy (abstinence, being faithful, using a condom). In many towns and cities, condoms are very inexpensive or even free.

Child Prostitution
Most young girls who are selling sex were not doing it out of pure choice, but rather as survival method. They use the money made for food, shelter, and equipment for school. Some of these girls are orphans or abandoned by their parents are forced to step up and resort to prostitution needing to feed and clothe their younger sibilings. Others sell sex in order to afford school, as education is a luxury that many parents cannot afford for their children. These young girls then will shoulder the burden, taking it upon themselves to cover the cost of books, transportation, uniforms, and any other additional expenses. Additionally, school is often miles from residences. Girls will exchange sex with motorcyclists for transportation to and from school. Many schools would range wildly in income levels. Some students would be coming from affluent families where money is not an issue while others would be from struggling parents trying to give a better life to their children. These poor adolescent girls would compare themselves with other students from rich families and exploit their bodies in an effort to match the material possessions of those surrounding them.

“Sugar daddies” are not an unfamiliar concept in Rwandan culture. In the study, the term sugar mommy/daddy was defined as “a wealthy, usually older man or woman who gives gifts to someone much younger in return for companionship or sexual favors" . It is not uncommon to see an orphan girl taken into a man's home, and will sleep with him as a form of gratitude. These men will not tell these girls that they have HIV, infecting them unbeknownst to them.

Pawning
Pawning, a similar concept to indentured servitude, is when a person agrees to a certain level of labor in order to pay off a debt. Oftentimes, children are pawned off to wealthier families in hope of getting them a better education. Children are sometimes pawned for the personal gain of the fathers. Sometimes, girls would be pawned off in return for a higher title or even to raise money to pay the school fees of their sons. With women and young girls, the work being done was domestic labor as well as sexual services. These children do labor in aims of working off their ‘debt’ but the debt is not a quantifiable number but rather a qualitative one based on the principle of the pawn. Children can end up working their entire life, with even their kids still being ‘property’. Fathers pawned their daughters to Even with the abolition of pawning and the use of  indentured slaves, women still find themselves in these situations because their labor/role can be disguised as maternal domestic work. Children being pawned are often disguised as child brides.