The Pros And Cons Of Prostitution In Namibia

Prostitution is defined as the act of engaging in a sexual activity with someone for some kind of payment. Prostitution has been around for many years. It is legal in various countries, however illegal in many countries including Namibia. This has however not curbed the growing number of prostitutes in the country. In Walvis Bay alone, one of the Namibian coastal towns, there are more an estimated 500 prostitutes (Hartman, 2008).

Prostitution is illegal in Namibia and often seen as unethical and immoral. It is also seen as a contributing factor to the prevalent HIV/AIDS rates of the country. Prostitutes sleep with different men sometimes with protection and sometimes without, thereby standing a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted

Women enter this sex industry as the last resort to make some kind of income to survive. A prostitute is Walvis Bay said the main reason she entered prostitution is to take care of her children as the father had abandoned them. Most women say if they can get better jobs they would definitely leave the industry (Hartman, 2008). It has been noted that the number of prostitutes in the sex industry may be higher than assumed as most women would avoid the use of their bodies if they had a choice (Schulze et al, 2014). Another factor that has been seen to drive women into prostitution is early home leaving. Early home leaving happens when there are negative family circumstances. These women have experienced either physical or sexual abuse and therfore tend to leave their homes at a very early age (Howard, 2001). Hantie, a run-awy from Mariental and now prostituting in Windhoek said after his parents died of AIDS related illnesses he ran away to release his grandmother of the burden of taking care of him (Irin News, 2005). Another reason that makes the exit from prostitution difficult is the drug dependency of most of the workers. Hantie, the same little boy claims that it is practically impossible to do this line of work with a sober mind (Irin News,

It has however been seen that the decriminalization of sex work could reduce the vulnerability of prostitutes to exploitation (Schulze et al, 2014). It is also argued that the legalization of prostitution will promote womens health as the use of condoms will be compulsory and women will be required to get health checks. Veronica Monet, a voluntary prostitute decribes prostution as the most honest work she knows of (Trifiolis, 2014). Legalization also aims at minimizing risks and empowering the prostitutes (Weitzer, 2007). Sex is a human need and prostitution is here to stay, therefore a proactive and realistic approach should be considered to deal with prostitution (Raymond,