Is the Government justified to formulate a Sex Worker’s Bill?

Recent media reports pointing that the government intends to come up with a Sex Worker’s Bill with an aim of protecting sex workers in the country, shocked quite a few of us. Already, many questions have been raised than answers.
At the outset, to say that prostitution is not happening in the country is to be disingenuous. Nowadays, it is commonplace to find sex workers in many country’s roads and entertainment centres. Of even more painful to note is that a majority of sex workers who ply their trade in these places are girls who are in their adolescent stage. This paints a gloomy picture of this country’s future.
At a time when the HIV/AIDS scourge is ravaging a lot of Malawians, it is sad that many women are still selling their bodies at the expense of their lives. However, as old wisdom holds that it takes two to tango, it is also very unfortunate that while HIV/AIDS messages are now on the lips of almost every Malawian, many men are shoving their precious lives to fate by hooking up with these sex workers.
Granted, there are protective measures of avoiding the contraction of the deadly virus such as the use of condoms, but if other recent reports coming from the National Aids Commission (Nac) are anything to go by, Malawians should shudder to come to terms with these facts.
According to Bernard Malango, NAC Board Chairperson, condom use in Malawi is just only about 50 per cent. What this essentially means is that half the population of Malawians, who engage in sexual behaviour, do not use condoms. Surely, one can safely argue that many sex workers also throw condoms to the wind.
So, while the government plans to come up with a Sex Worker’s Bill with an aim of removing sex workers out of the streets sound a good idea on face value, it will not arrest the problem of HIV infection and transmission among sex workers. In fact, there are huge problems associated with the whole sound of the intended Bill.
Firstly, remarks coming from Minister of Gender, Child and Community Development, Patricia Kaliati that this Bill plans to make these sex workers operate from homes in stead of streets, begs the question; how is this different from legalizing prostitution?
It does not actually make sense for government to come up with a Bill to allow sex workers to ply their trade in homes, while prohibiting them to operate in the streets. In fact, by allowing them to operate in homes, is the same as legalizing prostitution.
It should also be noted that many sex workers operate in the streets and other entertainment centres largely because they are cognizant of the fact that these are the places that their clients often loiter and harbour. So, saying that they should operate from their homes is almost impossible and in the end they will still be coming back to the streets for their markets.
Remember the issue of street vending which is refusing to be brought to a halt in the country’s cities and towns.
So, one wonders how the government is going to regulate sex work which is mainly a nocturnal activity when it has arguably failed to curb street vending in broad day lights?
Furthermore, while the government innocuously intends to protect the rights of sex workers who are oftentimes abused by their clients, it, at the same time, blinks the fact that sex workers sometimes also infringe the rights of their clients. For example, they violate the right to life of their clients if they conduct their business with the full knowledge of their HIV positive status.
Of course, Malawi is a democratic country, where the enjoyment of inalienable rights is the hallmark, but by protecting the rights of the sex workers, it is like the government is contradicting itself since the Penal Code is clear on all those people who transmit dangerous diseases intentionally to others.
And, it appears HIV infection rates are appallingly higher among sex workers. Recently, Secretary for HIV/AIDS and Nutrition in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr. Mary Shawa, was quoted in one of the local papers as saying that the infection rates of HIV among sex workers are as high as 70 and 80 per cent. Surely, one can argue that it is therefore activities like prostitution that are reversing the fight against HIV/AIDS.
So, coming up with a Bill to protect these sex workers will have devastating consequences on many Malawians. It will mean that government has approved this illegal and immoral activity to be taking place in underground and hidden places. And many sex workers will be doing their activities without looking over their shoulders thereby opening the floodgates to prostitution. Actually, by approving underground prostitution, the government is giving a nod for sex workers to go on rampage and spread HIV/AIDS.
Moreover, it should be noted that prostitution is on the increase mainly because of poverty. Sex workers indulge in this illicit activity largely because they want to escape from the life of penury that is constantly on their backs. For example, HIV/AIDS has claimed a lot of Malawian lives and as a consequence, this has made a lot of children to be orphans. This has therefore resulted in the increase of young sex workers who have taken prostitution as their means of survival.
So, it is going to be difficult to arrest the problem of prostitution in the streets since many sex workers sell their bodies because they want to earn a living out of it.
All these problems point to the fact that coming up with a Sex Workers Bill with an aim of making prostitution to be done in homes in stead of streets, will not be a solution to the problem of prostitution. To the contrary, this will aggravate the already worsen situation of prostitution in the country since sex workers will be engaging in their activities without fearing to be caught on the wrong side of the law.
It should also be noted that protecting sex workers from different sorts of abuse, can only be possible if the government legalise prostitution. Let’s be more reasonable here; how is the government going to be protecting sex workers when there is clause in the country’s laws that stipulate that prostitution, in every sense of the word, is illegal? Simply put, formulating a Sex Workers Bill will be a great stride towards the legalisation of prostitution in the country.
In my view, the solution to prostitution in the country does not lie in making them perform their unfathomable activities in homes instead of streets but strengthening the already existing laws by arresting and bringing to book all sex workers who are found loitering in every corner of this country. It is therefore unfortunate and disheartening to learn that some police officers when they find these sex workers in the streets, demand sex as a bribe instead of arresting them. Surely, this should change if prostitution is to be brought to a grinding halt .Rooting out prostitution in the country will require a holistic approach not just quick fix solutions.


This article appeared in the Sunday Times as an OP-Ed. I wrote the Opinion Debate with my friend and classmate Fletcher Bokelukamba Simwaka. However, I have posted my article only because I couldnt find Fletcher's article.