Source: IRIN PlusNews
The following are direct quotes from the article:
Girls who have been orphaned may be twice as likely to experience sexual abuse, according to research from child-friendly clinics in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. Dr Eunice Lyn Garura, director of the Family Support Trust, an NGO operating clinics for survivors of sexual abuse, said 30 percent of the predominantly female clients were orphans who had lost both parents.
Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday, July 04, 2009
MALAWI: No money, no services
Source: IRIN
The following are direct quotes from the article:
Interviews with OVC identified food - by a wide margin - as their chief concern, followed by access to clothing and school. They saw themselves as excluded from community and health services, and the report stressed the danger of commercial sex work as a means of meeting those needs.
EQUINET recommended the widening of community social safety nets, introducing communal farming schemes, and income-generating projects to support OVC. It also called on the government directly to address the shortages in CBO funding, and improve social protection services.
Click here to read the full article.
The following are direct quotes from the article:
Interviews with OVC identified food - by a wide margin - as their chief concern, followed by access to clothing and school. They saw themselves as excluded from community and health services, and the report stressed the danger of commercial sex work as a means of meeting those needs.
EQUINET recommended the widening of community social safety nets, introducing communal farming schemes, and income-generating projects to support OVC. It also called on the government directly to address the shortages in CBO funding, and improve social protection services.
Click here to read the full article.
Monday, June 22, 2009
RWANDA: Vulnerable children living on the margins
Source: IRIN
The following are direct quotes from the article:
Lambert Rukeratabaro has turned 16, but is still only in the fourth year of primary school in Byumba, north of the capital, Kigali. Like thousands of Rwandan children who lost their parents in the 1994 genocide or more recently to HIV/AIDS, Rukeratabaro is an orphan.
"I have been told that my parents died during the genocide," he told IRIN. "Our life is hard. Our parents left us some land so when the harvest is good, we have enough food for lunch and supper." Rukeratabaro's two sisters work on other farms to earn some money. "My sisters had eye and skin problems and it was very difficult getting medication," he said.
"There are at least 2.8 million vulnerable children in the country," said Gisele Rutayisire, the officer in charge of social protection and governance for child rights with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Kigali. An estimated 100,000 Rwandan households are headed by children.
Rukeratabaro said his dream would be to continue his education but he lacks money and relies on well wishers for support with school materials.
"Although I am not very good at school I would like to study up to university so that I can assist my family," he said.
Lambert Rukeratabaro has turned 16, but is still only in the fourth year of primary school in Byumba, north of the capital, Kigali. Like thousands of Rwandan children who lost their parents in the 1994 genocide or more recently to HIV/AIDS, Rukeratabaro is an orphan.
"I have been told that my parents died during the genocide," he told IRIN. "Our life is hard. Our parents left us some land so when the harvest is good, we have enough food for lunch and supper." Rukeratabaro's two sisters work on other farms to earn some money. "My sisters had eye and skin problems and it was very difficult getting medication," he said.
"There are at least 2.8 million vulnerable children in the country," said Gisele Rutayisire, the officer in charge of social protection and governance for child rights with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Kigali. An estimated 100,000 Rwandan households are headed by children.
Rukeratabaro said his dream would be to continue his education but he lacks money and relies on well wishers for support with school materials.
"Although I am not very good at school I would like to study up to university so that I can assist my family," he said.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
CAMEROON: Bringing street children back home
Source:IRIN
The following are direct quotes from the article:
Ousmanou, 13, has lived in the streets of Cameroon’s political capital Yaoundé for four months. He and his brother used to live with their grandmother in the northern city of Maroua but she could not afford to feed them properly. Now Ousmanou often forages for food in trash bins.
“We often have no choice but to search the garbage for something to eat,” he told IRIN, nursing an arm injury for which he said he cannot afford to see a doctor. He said he has been unable to find work as he had hoped and has turned to begging.
Reasons for children ending up in the streets vary, from economic hardship to family conflicts to peer pressure, according to ministry interviews with children. Many children in Yaoundé told IRIN they left home desperate to find work, their families unable to support them. But most said they regret their decision, having hit a dead end.
The following are direct quotes from the article:
Ousmanou, 13, has lived in the streets of Cameroon’s political capital Yaoundé for four months. He and his brother used to live with their grandmother in the northern city of Maroua but she could not afford to feed them properly. Now Ousmanou often forages for food in trash bins.
“We often have no choice but to search the garbage for something to eat,” he told IRIN, nursing an arm injury for which he said he cannot afford to see a doctor. He said he has been unable to find work as he had hoped and has turned to begging.
Reasons for children ending up in the streets vary, from economic hardship to family conflicts to peer pressure, according to ministry interviews with children. Many children in Yaoundé told IRIN they left home desperate to find work, their families unable to support them. But most said they regret their decision, having hit a dead end.
He added: “Children are used to transport drugs; they are recruited into gangs."
Click here to read the entire article!
Click here to read the entire article!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
KENYA: Domestic workers often do more than housework
Source: IRINnews
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
*When Nora Adhiambo, 21, started working as a housekeeper for a family in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, she expected to cook, clean and look after their young children; not that she would have to regularly have sex with her employer.
*"He would force me to have sex with him; every time he would sleep with me without a condom and this went on for two years," she told IRIN/PlusNews. "He threw me out when I told him I was pregnant; I realised later that I had not only left that house with a pregnancy but also HIV."
*Salaries are sometimes so low that they are forced to seek additional sources of income, including sex work; those forced out of their employer's home after being raped may resort to sex work as the only way to survive.
Click here to read the full article!
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
*When Nora Adhiambo, 21, started working as a housekeeper for a family in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, she expected to cook, clean and look after their young children; not that she would have to regularly have sex with her employer.
*"He would force me to have sex with him; every time he would sleep with me without a condom and this went on for two years," she told IRIN/PlusNews. "He threw me out when I told him I was pregnant; I realised later that I had not only left that house with a pregnancy but also HIV."
*Salaries are sometimes so low that they are forced to seek additional sources of income, including sex work; those forced out of their employer's home after being raped may resort to sex work as the only way to survive.
Click here to read the full article!
BENIN-NIGERIA: Learning English to enter the sex industry
Source:IRINnews/PLUSNews
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
Many young people in French-speaking Benin are learning English to adapt to globalization, but some young women have another goal: to enter the thriving sex industry in neighbouring Nigeria, where the market is considered more lucrative.
"Some of them, for example, go to learn English ... in Nigeria, for further study - not all of them go with the intention of becoming [sex workers], but their circumstances push them into it," said Legonou, who emphasized the need to "concentrate on awareness-raising of young girls", particularly to the risk of HIV.
Amy, a young sex worker near one of the big hotels in the city, came from Ivory Coast in 2007. She said she made enough money to rent an apartment for US$400 a month in a suburb of Abuja.
Nigeria has 2.6 million people living with HIV - the third highest HIV caseload in the world after India and South Africa – and a prevalence rate of 3.1 percent, compared to 2 percent in Benin, but this does not discourage young people.
Click here to read the full article!
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
Many young people in French-speaking Benin are learning English to adapt to globalization, but some young women have another goal: to enter the thriving sex industry in neighbouring Nigeria, where the market is considered more lucrative.
"Some of them, for example, go to learn English ... in Nigeria, for further study - not all of them go with the intention of becoming [sex workers], but their circumstances push them into it," said Legonou, who emphasized the need to "concentrate on awareness-raising of young girls", particularly to the risk of HIV.
Amy, a young sex worker near one of the big hotels in the city, came from Ivory Coast in 2007. She said she made enough money to rent an apartment for US$400 a month in a suburb of Abuja.
Nigeria has 2.6 million people living with HIV - the third highest HIV caseload in the world after India and South Africa – and a prevalence rate of 3.1 percent, compared to 2 percent in Benin, but this does not discourage young people.
Click here to read the full article!
WEST AFRICA: Combating world's lowest literacy rates
Source: IRINnews
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
*Illiteracy rates in West Africa are the highest in the world, cramping development and weakening citizens’ power to effect socio-economic and political change,
*Sixty-five million West African adults – 40 percent of the adult population – cannot read or write according to a new study, 'From closed books to open doors – West Africa's literacy challenge'.
*Of the 10 countries with the world’s lowest recorded adult – 15 and older – literacy rates, seven are in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone, the report says.
*An educated population will also show stronger support for democracy
*Education activist and former child soldier in Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah, told IRIN: “Education is not only something to get a career or change your socio-economic status, but it is a way you can begin to understand your government and demand more of it.”
*Rich country aid to education in West Africa in 2007 was equal to just one per cent of what the US government spent on bailing out [insurance company] AIG alone,” Pearce said.
*When supporting education donors should pay more heed to literacy, the report says.
Click here to read the full article!
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
*Illiteracy rates in West Africa are the highest in the world, cramping development and weakening citizens’ power to effect socio-economic and political change,
*Sixty-five million West African adults – 40 percent of the adult population – cannot read or write according to a new study, 'From closed books to open doors – West Africa's literacy challenge'.
*Of the 10 countries with the world’s lowest recorded adult – 15 and older – literacy rates, seven are in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone, the report says.
*An educated population will also show stronger support for democracy
*Education activist and former child soldier in Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah, told IRIN: “Education is not only something to get a career or change your socio-economic status, but it is a way you can begin to understand your government and demand more of it.”
*Rich country aid to education in West Africa in 2007 was equal to just one per cent of what the US government spent on bailing out [insurance company] AIG alone,” Pearce said.
*When supporting education donors should pay more heed to literacy, the report says.
Click here to read the full article!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Your purpose is beyond you...
"Past the seeker as he prayed
came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten.
And seeing them...he cried
"Great God, how is it that a loving creator
can see such things and yet do nothing about them?"
God said "I did do something. I made you."
(Sufi Teaching)
came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten.
And seeing them...he cried
"Great God, how is it that a loving creator
can see such things and yet do nothing about them?"
God said "I did do something. I made you."
(Sufi Teaching)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Secret of Living Well...
The secret of living well is not in the answers we amass but in the actions we take. No matter how many problems we solve, there will always be new ones to take their place. We can be more masterful in life if we allow problems to be an ever-present, challenging, and stimulating aspect of living. Accepting and embracing our own humanity is one of the secrets of living life truly satisfied and free of suffering.
[Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]
[Judy Tatelbaum, You Don't Have to Suffer]
Friday, May 08, 2009
Build and live in a new world...
To change the world we do not need to manipulate people or events; we need to change our minds. Effective transformation springs naturally from higher vision. As we open to a higher reality, we find evidence to support it. Everyone who has improved the world has seen a bigger picture than the one most people were living, and found the courage to live as if it were already so.
Our history is not our destiny. You and I are here to build and live in a new world. Your role in bringing about that world is much simpler than you have realized. You are not required to become a world leader, invent a revolutionary mode of travel, or discover a miraculous medicinal panacea. Your purpose here is much more personal and relevant to the life you are now living. You are here to discover and release the beliefs that have kept you living in a circle smaller than your potential, and step into a world that honors the greatness within you and everyone you meet. You are here to claim your vision and walk in the light. You are here to be you.
[Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]
Our history is not our destiny. You and I are here to build and live in a new world. Your role in bringing about that world is much simpler than you have realized. You are not required to become a world leader, invent a revolutionary mode of travel, or discover a miraculous medicinal panacea. Your purpose here is much more personal and relevant to the life you are now living. You are here to discover and release the beliefs that have kept you living in a circle smaller than your potential, and step into a world that honors the greatness within you and everyone you meet. You are here to claim your vision and walk in the light. You are here to be you.
[Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]
Each of us really can save the world...
The miracle is that each of us really can save the world. Indeed, we must, for what else of value is there to be done? Since there is no order of difficulty in miracles, our desire to save the world must be within our reach. And since the task of our physically maneuvering the world and its people into harmony is unthinkable, there must be some other way.
That way is the way of Spirit, the way of God, the way of Love, which is not confined to time or to space. When we align our hearts and minds with the intentions of Godly Love, we are joining the forces of that power, indeed the only power that can redeem humankind. We have found the only avenue of action that can have any real effect. We have aligned our intentions with Him whose intention is salvation. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]
That way is the way of Spirit, the way of God, the way of Love, which is not confined to time or to space. When we align our hearts and minds with the intentions of Godly Love, we are joining the forces of that power, indeed the only power that can redeem humankind. We have found the only avenue of action that can have any real effect. We have aligned our intentions with Him whose intention is salvation. [Cohen, The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore]
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
INDONESIA: Poverty at root of commercial sex work
Source: IRINnews
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
*In a district of the northeastern part of West Java, commercial sex workers are touting for business right outside the mosque.
*"The root of the problem is poverty, but in some areas... prostitution is accepted. It's the culture," explains Arum Ratnawati...with people so poor they are forced to sell or send their children into commercial sex work to earn income for the family.
*In a country with high unemployment and over 4 million school-age children unable to go to school, it is not difficult to understand how trafficking can thrive. The latest government estimates in 2004 put the number of children trafficked for prostitution at 21,000 for Java and 70,000 for the whole of Indonesia.
*The stories are usually the same: poor, uneducated girls who do not know how to protect themselves are preyed upon by people they trust, including relatives or neighbours, who promise to give them jobs in the city or abroad. They end up working in brothels, forced to pay off the IDR500,000 or IDR1 million ($55 or $110) the trafficker paid their parents.
*While they conduct awareness-raising activities and provide skills training, these NGOs find that many prostitutes do not want to be rescued. "Out of 500 children we tried to rescue over the past four years, only around 150 really want to quit prostitution," says Ratnawati. "They give up their rights because of their economic situation. They need the money."
Click here to read the full article!
The following are direct quotes from the aforementioned article:
*In a district of the northeastern part of West Java, commercial sex workers are touting for business right outside the mosque.
*"The root of the problem is poverty, but in some areas... prostitution is accepted. It's the culture," explains Arum Ratnawati...with people so poor they are forced to sell or send their children into commercial sex work to earn income for the family.
*In a country with high unemployment and over 4 million school-age children unable to go to school, it is not difficult to understand how trafficking can thrive. The latest government estimates in 2004 put the number of children trafficked for prostitution at 21,000 for Java and 70,000 for the whole of Indonesia.
*The stories are usually the same: poor, uneducated girls who do not know how to protect themselves are preyed upon by people they trust, including relatives or neighbours, who promise to give them jobs in the city or abroad. They end up working in brothels, forced to pay off the IDR500,000 or IDR1 million ($55 or $110) the trafficker paid their parents.
*While they conduct awareness-raising activities and provide skills training, these NGOs find that many prostitutes do not want to be rescued. "Out of 500 children we tried to rescue over the past four years, only around 150 really want to quit prostitution," says Ratnawati. "They give up their rights because of their economic situation. They need the money."
Click here to read the full article!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Leaving for Ethiopia: Cleansing the Lens of the Soul!
By: Nasir Al-AminTonight, I have a redeye flight to Ethiopia. My journeys to Ethiopia always have a dual agenda/reality attached to them. Outwardly, my journeys are work related. Inwardly, they are transformative, therapy for soul, a stimulus to refocus. Thus, the outward and inward aims of this trip are the following:
1) Yousef: One of the orphans we work with has been in the hospital for a month. Previously he was diagnosed with HIV+ and I have been informed that his body has adjusted to his medication, and thus stopped working effectively. I hear he is in critical condition, so my main aim is to check on him.
3) Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs): In partnership with HAPSCO, an NGO based in Ethiopia, ALIF provides monetary assistance for school fees, food, and housing to impoverished and/or HIV/AIDS infected children that have lost one or both parents.
4) Donated School Supplies: A Kuwaiti volunteer, Noura,
5) Listen, Observe and Reflect: My first trip to Ethiopia in 2002 fostered a paradigm shift, in that the way I viewed the world and my role in it changed significantly. Each subsequent trip has helped to cleanse the lens through which I perceive, understand and process life experiences and the realities of others. The poor and marginalized have given me something priceless: "the gift of perspective."
1) Yousef: One of the orphans we work with has been in the hospital for a month. Previously he was diagnosed with HIV+ and I have been informed that his body has adjusted to his medication, and thus stopped working effectively. I hear he is in critical condition, so my main aim is to check on him.
2) Commercial Sex Workers (CSW): Last year we launched a project to provide skill training (sewing and tailoring) to 10 women engaged in CSW. I'm going to follow-up with them the about skills they have gained and their life post-intervention.
3) Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs): In partnership with HAPSCO, an NGO based in Ethiopia, ALIF provides monetary assistance for school fees, food, and housing to impoverished and/or HIV/AIDS infected children that have lost one or both parents.
4) Donated School Supplies: A Kuwaiti volunteer, Noura,
donated school supplies for the children we serve. Therefore, I will have the pleasure to see their smiles as I give them the supplies.
5) Listen, Observe and Reflect: My first trip to Ethiopia in 2002 fostered a paradigm shift, in that the way I viewed the world and my role in it changed significantly. Each subsequent trip has helped to cleanse the lens through which I perceive, understand and process life experiences and the realities of others. The poor and marginalized have given me something priceless: "the gift of perspective."
Monday, April 27, 2009
In their words...
“There are some that try to steal from you forcefully and others would try to kill you, just as someone killed one of my girl friends.”
(CSW, 22 years old, bar-worker, Assab)
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
(CSW, 22 years old, bar-worker, Assab)
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
In their words...
A couple of the key informants spoke of Muslim men from adjoining countries (e.g. Sudan, Saudi Arabia) as being common clientele.
“They are ‘over satisfied ones’, those who have much money. Some come from foreign countries for vacation. For example from Saudi Arabia because there is “Sharia” law, they come here and pay so much money they can do whatever they want. They are Eritreans who live abroad; they live in Saudi Arabia.” (Key informant, student, 20 years old, Dekemhare)
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
“They are ‘over satisfied ones’, those who have much money. Some come from foreign countries for vacation. For example from Saudi Arabia because there is “Sharia” law, they come here and pay so much money they can do whatever they want. They are Eritreans who live abroad; they live in Saudi Arabia.” (Key informant, student, 20 years old, Dekemhare)
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
Friday, April 24, 2009
KENYA: HIV-positive people feeling the pinch of high food prices
Source: IRIN/PlusNews
The following are direct quotes from the article:
*Soaring food prices are beginning to affect the health of HIV-positive people in Kenya.
*"The success of ARV drugs is no more; many patients are suffering seriously,"...They have developed health complications because they cannot afford basic food, leave alone a balanced diet."
*According to the UNAIDS, adequate nutrition plays a crucial role in maintaining the immune systems of people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as helping to ensure that those on treatment get the maximum benefits from antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
*The latest humanitarian food update by the UN...Kenya could expect a food deficit as a result of global food shortages, increased food prices and reduced production, compounded by poor rains and the displacement of people...
*Rama said families had been forced to increase spending on food to ensure their HIV-positive family members had a balanced diet, at the expense of other essential requirements like their children's education...some of the poorer HIV/AIDS patients had begun rejecting free life-prolonging ARV medication because of the side effects of taking the drugs on an empty stomach.
*Mary is afraid her chances of living much longer are being compromised by the food shortages. "I have developed many health problems in the past three months. I had malaria, pneumonia and now I have TB [tuberculosis]; I can no longer wash people's clothes to feed my three children," said the mother of three who tested HIV-positive three years ago.
*...high food prices were also affecting HIV prevention efforts, because girls and women were being forced into commercial sex work to feed themselves and their families. "Food insecurity has been one of the major factors responsible for HIV/AIDS cases in northern Kenya," he said. "It is worse now, and we fear that many girls and women will fall victim to the virus now."
Click here to read the full article.
The following are direct quotes from the article:
*Soaring food prices are beginning to affect the health of HIV-positive people in Kenya.
*"The success of ARV drugs is no more; many patients are suffering seriously,"...They have developed health complications because they cannot afford basic food, leave alone a balanced diet."
*According to the UNAIDS, adequate nutrition plays a crucial role in maintaining the immune systems of people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as helping to ensure that those on treatment get the maximum benefits from antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
*The latest humanitarian food update by the UN...Kenya could expect a food deficit as a result of global food shortages, increased food prices and reduced production, compounded by poor rains and the displacement of people...
*Rama said families had been forced to increase spending on food to ensure their HIV-positive family members had a balanced diet, at the expense of other essential requirements like their children's education...some of the poorer HIV/AIDS patients had begun rejecting free life-prolonging ARV medication because of the side effects of taking the drugs on an empty stomach.
*Mary is afraid her chances of living much longer are being compromised by the food shortages. "I have developed many health problems in the past three months. I had malaria, pneumonia and now I have TB [tuberculosis]; I can no longer wash people's clothes to feed my three children," said the mother of three who tested HIV-positive three years ago.
*...high food prices were also affecting HIV prevention efforts, because girls and women were being forced into commercial sex work to feed themselves and their families. "Food insecurity has been one of the major factors responsible for HIV/AIDS cases in northern Kenya," he said. "It is worse now, and we fear that many girls and women will fall victim to the virus now."
Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
In their words...
“…Many people are really shocked to see us. I am young and my friends are younger than I am. If there were rehabilitation centres I wouldn’t choose prostitution. I would love to learn, play and live." (CSW, solicits from nightclubs, 18 year old, Massawa)
“The solution is for the government to give us alternative work, like a trade, in order that we can leave this job…I will be able to create a good future for my children; a chance for them to be educated.” (CSW, working from home, 28 year old, Keren)
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
“The solution is for the government to give us alternative work, like a trade, in order that we can leave this job…I will be able to create a good future for my children; a chance for them to be educated.” (CSW, working from home, 28 year old, Keren)
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
YEMEN: Poverty, lack of education boosting HIV/AIDS
Source:IRIN/IRINnews.org
The following are direct quotes from the article:
The following are direct quotes from the article:
*Maha (not her real name), 22, has been a commercial sex worker since she was 17. She told IRIN she and her sister were forced into prostitution to provide food and medical treatment for their ailing mother.
*"My father died when we were young and so my mother had to work as a house maid. We lived as destitutes and we could not continue our education. My mother got cancer and my sister and I decided to work on the street," she said. "Prostitution has become our source of income. We have no education or skills... Job opportunities are very scarce," she said.
*When asked whether she was at risk of HIV/AIDS, Maha said she had never been tested. "We hear about AIDS and all I know about it is that it is fatal. I think Yemen is safe as it is a Muslim country. AIDS comes from Western people and we don't sleep with them," she said.
*Experts say Yemenis are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS as a result of high rates of poverty and lack of education.
*When asked whether she was at risk of HIV/AIDS, Maha said she had never been tested. "We hear about AIDS and all I know about it is that it is fatal. I think Yemen is safe as it is a Muslim country. AIDS comes from Western people and we don't sleep with them," she said.
*Experts say Yemenis are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS as a result of high rates of poverty and lack of education.
*According to the US Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report 2006, Yemeni children were trafficked internally for sexual exploitation, and Yemen was also a destination country for trafficked Iraqi women.
*Some 16 percent of Yemen's 21 million population lives on less than US$1 a day and 45 percent lives on less than US$2 a day, according to UNDP
Click here to read the full article.
Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
In their words...
“The situation is hard; there are no jobs. If you want to help us, create job opportunities for us or give us education. If this is done, we sex workers will not exist, so there will no longer be any clients.”
(CSW, solicits from nightclubs and streets, 25 year old, Asmara)
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
Report: Staying Safe on the Streets
The following are direct quotes from the article:
Staying Safe on the Streets: A Situational Analysis of Commercial Sex Work in Eritrea
Major Findings
Classification of sex workers
Commercial sex workers (CSW) are usually classified according to the type of place from which they operate, namely from bars, hotels, their own houses or from the streets, and there are differences in the type of clientele for each of these types, and in the fees that they charge (as discussed below). Often they are also grouped according to their age group – usually into what are commonly referred to as “underage” girls (below 18 years), and older women. Some classify CSWs according to whether they are registered or not; the latter are often referred to as “secret” CSWs, who usually have other occupations too. CSWs who work in bars are apparently often not paid to do so; their payment is in return for sex with clients who frequent the bars.
Problems faced by CSWs
Most agreed that there is significant competition between CSWs, based on the clothes and jewellery that they wear, their hairstyles, their youth and beauty. Key informants had sometimes witnessed nasty fights (involving broken bottles, for example) between CSWs, though others spoke of a strong support system amongst fellow CSWs. The main problems faced by CSWs include violence from clients, clients who refuse to use condoms or who deliberately take them off or tear them during sex, a lack of alternative job opportunities and requests for ‘unusual’ or distasteful sexual acts by their clients.
Possible interventions
The main suggestions for intervention included the facilitation of employment opportunities and training for CSWs, and the provision of more entertainment facilities for youth, to detract from the demand for prostitutes. Several wanted the female condom to be made widely available to CSWs. Rehabilitation centres were suggested, too. CSWs reacted favourably to the idea of peer education and other health-related programmes. They felt that registration appealed on account of their being able to have frequent health-check-ups and free STI treatment but noted that some CSWs resist registration because they fear an HIV positive test result or are afraid of identifying themselves as commercial sex workers.
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
Staying Safe on the Streets: A Situational Analysis of Commercial Sex Work in Eritrea
Major Findings
Classification of sex workers
Commercial sex workers (CSW) are usually classified according to the type of place from which they operate, namely from bars, hotels, their own houses or from the streets, and there are differences in the type of clientele for each of these types, and in the fees that they charge (as discussed below). Often they are also grouped according to their age group – usually into what are commonly referred to as “underage” girls (below 18 years), and older women. Some classify CSWs according to whether they are registered or not; the latter are often referred to as “secret” CSWs, who usually have other occupations too. CSWs who work in bars are apparently often not paid to do so; their payment is in return for sex with clients who frequent the bars.
Problems faced by CSWs
Most agreed that there is significant competition between CSWs, based on the clothes and jewellery that they wear, their hairstyles, their youth and beauty. Key informants had sometimes witnessed nasty fights (involving broken bottles, for example) between CSWs, though others spoke of a strong support system amongst fellow CSWs. The main problems faced by CSWs include violence from clients, clients who refuse to use condoms or who deliberately take them off or tear them during sex, a lack of alternative job opportunities and requests for ‘unusual’ or distasteful sexual acts by their clients.
Possible interventions
The main suggestions for intervention included the facilitation of employment opportunities and training for CSWs, and the provision of more entertainment facilities for youth, to detract from the demand for prostitutes. Several wanted the female condom to be made widely available to CSWs. Rehabilitation centres were suggested, too. CSWs reacted favourably to the idea of peer education and other health-related programmes. They felt that registration appealed on account of their being able to have frequent health-check-ups and free STI treatment but noted that some CSWs resist registration because they fear an HIV positive test result or are afraid of identifying themselves as commercial sex workers.
Source: Staying Safe on the Streets
(UNAIDS, UNFPA, Min. of Health Gov. of Eritrea)
Click here to read the full report!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
