World AIDS Day And Sex Workers
* December 1 Is World AIDS Day
Hewa Anthonige Lakshman
By Piyumi Buddhakorala and Janeen Fernando
Hewa Anthonige Lakshman, executive director of the Community Strength Development Foundation (CSDF) spoke of the difficulties faced by those working for the welfare of sex workers in Sri Lanka while shedding light on an industry which is very much a taboo subject.
Prostitution is said to be the oldest occupation in the world. It is also illegal in this country. However being an illegitimate industry has not curtailed the prevalence of the sex industry in Sri Lanka and the dangers faced by sex workers who are not protected by the law, are many.
Community Strength Development Foundation has been functional for eight years. They are supported by several organisations, notably the UNFPA, UNAIDS and NSACP. CSDF targets serving sex workers, a community marginalised due to legal and social objections to their means of employment. CSDF had worked with both male and female sex workers but serving this community is hard due to the lack of reliable information available of the whereabouts of where sex workers ply their trade or even the number of sex workers in Sri Lanka.
Currently CSDF is doing a mapping of sex workers in several districts with the aim of eventually covering all of Sri Lanka. In addition they operate drop-in centres where sex workers can obtain condoms free of charge. The centre is also for drug users apart from the sex workers. They have started outreach programmes in Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Ratnapura and Nuwara Eliya. They have further plans to start working in each district, specifically in Badulla, Matara, and Hambantota. They currently distribute 50,000 condoms each month.
The drop-in centres are key to the activities of the CSDF. Sex workers are able to lodge there. They drop in, lodge until their appointment with a client and collect free condoms and leave. They are also provided with counseling facilities. “2am, 3am, 6am, 10am, 8pm, 11pm are all times in which the sex workers step out for their appointments. Some who don’t have homes stay at the drop-in centre and leave straight for their appointments,” states Lakshman.
“Wherever there are sex workers, we look for them and we act,” says Lakshman. He states that the Colombo and Gampaha Districts have the most known numbers of sex workers. Lakshman and his team are aiming to make the workers aware of the occupational consequences, provide condoms and help them in ways to protect themselves from clients. There are sexual health clinics available in Ragama, Meegama and Colombo, to which we send them to when in need of treatment,” he said.
Sex workers operate in various places such as karaoke bars, massage parlours, brothels, hotels, slums, and on the streets. Others sometimes referred to as call girls also work through making appointments over the telephone. Lakshman and his team make it a point to provide condoms at such places for the benefit and safety of the workers.
“Some homeless sex workers ask of us to have the drop-in centre accessible 365 days a year. Though it is open most days of the year, it is only open till evening as it is not possible for our staff to stay on longer,” said Lakshman. CSDF staffers provide tea, sugar and biscuits at the centre but the day-to-day maintenance of the facility is done by the sex workers themselves.
Next Week:
Problem Of
Sex Workers
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