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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A SCHOOL girl during the day and a lady of the night in the evening- what a contrast. Unfortunately these are the lives which some children in Zimbabwe have opted to lead. Girls as young as 12 have turned to prostitution, flooding night clubs and bars where they are entertaining older men. Some of the clients of these girls are law enforcement agents who are supposed to be custodians of the law.

A perfect spot which illustrates child prostitution is Dumms Palace Nightclub and Ndabayakhe Nightclub in Plumtree Town where teenagers continuously flock to the night spots.

A 17-year-teenage sex worker from Plumtree who frequents Dumms Palace said the nightclub was a perfect spot for her and her peers to get spoiled by older men.
“We go to nightclubs just for fun. It is a way of relaxing after spending the whole day at school. We are human beings and we need to socialise once in a while and I go to the nightclub to do this.

“I do not go there daily but I make sure that a weekend does not go by without me visiting the nightclub. At the nightclubs we meet up with elderly men who give us money and we entertain them. Some of them are as old as 50 years,” said the girl.

She added: “Some of them give us money in exchange for sex but I am very careful on that issue. I try as much as possible to avoid sleeping with a lot of men so that I do not fall pregnant or contract HIV.

“I stay alone at home because my parents are in South Africa so I have all the freedom that I want.”
Night clubs have become a harbour for young girls to be exploited by older men.

Surprisingly as a way of escapism, once they are questioned after exploiting young girls these men sing the same chorus. “I did not know that she was under age.”
Some child protection organisations have identified poverty as one factor pushing young girls into teenage prostitution.

Director of Restoration of Hope Organisation Clive Simango said investigations had shown that some girls engaged in teen prostitution as a means of living luxurious lives.
“Teen prostitution is increasing by the day and in some cases it manifests itself through teen pregnancies. It appears that one of the factors driving young girls into this is poverty. Some of the teenagers who are into prostitution come from poor backgrounds.

“They resort to prostitution in a bid to raise money. Some of them come from child headed families and prostitution becomes a means of livelihood for them. In some cases parents and guardians drive their children into prostitution and they use them to raise income,” said Simango.

“In some cases the child’s upbringing leads them to prostitution. Most of the girls who are into this activity were not raised by their biological parents. In some cases they were raised by distant relatives, others by grandparents while in some cases it could be complete strangers.

“It could be that the parents passed away or they left for the diaspora. In any case it is improper for a school going child to engage in prostitution as this may destroy her future. Her focus in school is also disturbed.”

Simango described parenting as a crucial part of a child’s upbringing.
“Some parents often undermine the importance of their presence in their children’s lives, especially at teenage level. Yet in most cases no one can raise a child better than their biological parent.

“Relatives or strangers like house helps tend to be more relaxed in disciplining children left in their custody. Grandparents that have become of age cannot be strict and firm as desired,” he said.

A 75-year-old Plumtree woman who has a 13-year-old granddaughter who ventured into teenage prostitution narrated the difficulties she faced in keeping her grandchild in check.

“It very difficult to closely monitor children once you are older. My granddaughter was always a step ahead of me and she was always tricking me. She used to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night and she would go to night clubs or sleep at her friend’s house.

“This was happening right under my nose but I was not aware. When she started using drugs she used to do it in secret but eventually she would come home drunk and she did not even mind whether I saw her,” said the woman whose name is withheld to protect the girl.

“My presence or rebuke was not enough to correct her and there was nothing I could do about what she was doing.
“Her mother went to South Africa and she left her and her three-year-old brother under my care. Monitoring the two of them is an uphill task for me considering that I face great difficulties moving around. I sometimes think that if their mother was around things would be a bit different.”

Dube said her teenage granddaughter early this year confessed to prostitution. She said she confessed to have slept with about 15 men within a space of a year while under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Her granddaughter has since been institutionalised in a rehabilitation facility in Bulawayo.
The United Nations defines teenage prostitution as the act of engaging or offering the services of a child to perform sexual acts for money or other consideration with that person or any other person.

The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age. In most jurisdictions, prostitution of a person under 18 is illegal.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography defines the practice as the act of obtaining, procuring or offering the services of a child or inducing a child to perform sexual acts for any form of compensation or reward. The child is viewed as a victim of exploitation in this case, even if apparent consent is given.

Children are often forced into prostitution by social structures and individual agents. Prostitution of children usually occurs in environments such as brothels, bars and clubs, homes, or particular streets and areas.

Research suggests that there may be as many as 10 million children involved in prostitution  worldwide. The problem is most severe in South America, but prostitution of children exists globally, in undeveloped countries as well as developed ones.