All that John* wanted that night was some casual five-minute sexual satisfaction, but he ended up regretting the day he decided to let his quest for sex take him to a commercial sex worker.
news in depth BY TAPIWA ZIVIRA
With $10 in his pocket, he headed to the infamous Avenues area, close to President Robert Mugabe’s State House — an area known for being a hotbed of sex workers.
After settling for his choice among the many girls that line up the streets day and night, John successfully bargained to have the “quickie” for just $5 and together they headed towards the girl’s place, just a few blocks away where they would engage in sex and part ways.
For John, this was a simple, quick way out of his thirst for sex and he was sure he would be done in no time and without any hitches.
Narrating his story, John said he was pleasantly surprised when the girl gave him an unforgettable fellatio act — which was not part of the agreement — before the sex.
What John did not realise was that the end of his pleasurable experience would be the beginning of his problems that night.
“When I tried to give her the $5 we had agreed, she said she wanted $20, the $5 for the act and $15 for pleasuring me before the act,” said John.
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A shocked John tried to protest, but before he could do anything, the door to their room was unlocked from outside and five men entered.
The men violently ordered him to pay the $20, an amount he did not have on him.
Threatening to take his nude pictures to a local daily tabloid, the men searched John and took the $10 he had, his wrist watch and other belongings before releasing him.
While he was lucky to lose just a few belongings and walk away unharmed, John’s story is similar to that of many men who have fallen victim to the syndicates comprising sex workers and robbers in Harare.
All of this, as investigations by The Standard established, happens in the heart of the Avenues area in Harare, where one of the few remaining viable industries in the country — prostitution — thrives.
While in other places sex work normally starts at nightfall, it is a different story in the Avenues, as sex workers are on the streets 24 hours a day.
This is because the country’s plummeting economic fortunes have forced many women and girls to resort to sex work for survival, while robbers have had to craft other ways of earning a living.
With police no longer arbitrarily arresting sex workers, girls from Harare and its satellites such as Epworth, Domboshawa, Dema and Chitungwiza, flock to the Avenues, in the process increasing the bargaining power of potential clients.
A recent survey by The Standard showed that sex workers now charged as low as $3 for short-time sex, unlike in the past when it was pegged at a minimum of $10.
But even at these low prices, competition is tight, and it takes aggressive soliciting to land a client for a good fee.
“Life is not as rosy as you see us here in the Avenues,” one of the sex workers, Lindiwe said.
“When you see us standing here, we have children to feed and clothe, rentals to pay and we also need to invest in clothes and cosmetics because looks are important in this business,” she said, flaunting her white mini-dress and matching heels.
“Clients have become fewer as life becomes tougher for many and making $10 a night is difficult these days,” she added.
With the cut-throat competition, some sex workers have taken their vice a notch up, this time engaging thugs to assist in squeezing extra money from their clients.
In a two-week study of the activities of the Avenues, The Standard established the style of operation of these syndicates.
How they operate
When they go out to solicit for clients, sex workers leave gangs on standby close to their rooms.
The gangs usually comprise between two and five men.
When the sex worker gets a client, she proposes they have sex at her place and the gangs, who will be having a spare key to the sex worker’s room, close in on the two “lovebirds” and wait in an adjacent room or by the door for the right time.
According to a sex worker who refused to be identified, “The ‘boys’ wait close by and when the two are done having sex, that is when they pounce.”
“The sex worker either gives extra services to the client without divulging the cost implications, or she simply demands more money, just to spark an argument with the client,” she said.
“It is that argument that will give a signal to the boys waiting next door to come in.”
This paper established that the thugs use violence or threats of public humiliation to blackmail the client into parting with more money and other valuables.
Although this reporter could not independently verify, some sex workers claimed that the thugs always had contacts who could threaten publication of the incident if clients resisted robbery.
“They know that no-one will report their case to the police because it would be embarrassing and it can even attract unwanted attention on the client in the event that the case goes to court,” said another sex worker.
Acting on a tip off from other prostitutes, this reporter approached a sex worker who is alleged to be part of a syndicate that robs clients.
She refused to talk and threatened to call “her boys” to “deal” with this reporter.
“I will call my boys to deal with you if you want to be nosy,” she said.
After further probing, she warmed up and opened up: “When my client was robbed in December, it was not out of my making, I did not know the men who broke into my room just after having sex with my client.
“I was also a victim but because it was my client who was manhandled, but now everyone thinks I am part of a syndicate,” she said, before hastily walking away from her spot. Not just thugs
It is not only thugs who help sex workers rob clients as it was established that some prostitutes too team up to rob clients who appeared to be “rich”.
“Some prostitutes just do it on their own. They just team up and rob a client by threatening to publish his pictures in the paper,” said an airtime vendor in the Avenues area.
The vendor, who identified himself as Donny, said their initial aim was to deal with clients who refused to pay.
“But it is not always the case because remember these prostitutes need money and sometimes they end up being greedy and wanting more from clients who they see as well up,” he said, adding that he had on many occasions witnessed men being mobbed by prostitutes.
“It is normal to see a scuffle between a man and sex workers and usually it is about payment,” said Donny.
Last year, a man believed to be a Cabinet minister’s driver, was extorted and humiliated by three ladies of the night in the Avenues after they hiked charges and demanded $1 500 and he was later forced to pay $110 for short-time sex.
A local tabloid is known for receiving and paying for pictures, and often carries sleazy images of the activities in the Avenues.
The sex workers are unapologetic about their acts, and they justify their actions.
A prostitute at Trekkerel court admitted to demanding more money than bargained for and having men to back her up.
Calling herself Mandy, the sex worker said: “My friends [the gang] are always close by to defend me from those who want to have sex without paying, or violent clients, but as you know, vakomana veBronco [they are drug abusers], so sometimes they go overboard and attempt to extort my clients, especially if they are high profile people. It is their issue, not mine,” she said.
“If you are to survive and make money here in the Avenues, you have to have back up all the time because often clients come here without enough money and some want to abuse us so it is only proper to have people who can back you up when in trouble.
“Besides, other sex workers can be jealous if you are making money so they can cause trouble,” she said.
Last year the Constitutional Court outlawed the arrest of women on charges of soliciting for sex in the absence of men confirming that they were offered services.
