The picture of an 11-year-old girl turned prostitute standing next to a highway while waiting for ‘clients’ in one of our editions recently – March 6, 2007 to be precise – casts a dark shadow over the good that this nation stands for.
The story of this 11-year-old girl and others who find themselves in similar circumstances is a numbing one. It is shocking to find a girl this young engage in prostitution and this for no fault of hers.
An 11-year-old is a minor. The girl ought to have been in class learning and preparing herself for life in the future. She ought to have been in the comfort of a home, cared for by those who are well versed with the complexities of life in this world. She is just too young to fend for herself.
Yet, in the case of this unfortunate girl and others in similar positions, she has become an adult before maturity. Her conditions have deprived her of an early child life such that she has to experience life the hard way.
The story of this young girl is not an isolated one. According to a recent study conducted by Merab Kambamu Kiremire, there is a dramatic upswing in child prostitution in Namibia. Children this young are on the streets in search of money to make a living. The report reveals that child prostitution has become a common feature of local prostitution.
Children as young as 11 years old are out in shebeens and on streets particularly the central business district (CBD), the Western Bypass, nightclubs, gambling houses and informal settlements for the ‘sale of the flesh activities” according to Kiremire’s findings.
The report makes the chilling observation that despite Namibia being a signatory to the United Nations on the Rights of the Child, the sad reality is that 21 percent of those in prostitution are of school-going age, that is, they are between the ages of 15 and 19 years.
These findings are a wake-up call. A verdict has been passed and unless we act now, we could be headed for serious trouble as a nation.
And, society is to blame for this situation. Those who lure girls this young into prostitution and actually pay for sex with them are grown-up members of our society. They are men old enough to be the fathers and uncles of these young girls.
At the same time, there may as well be older women especially mothers or guardians of these children who encourage them to engage in prostitution for money’s sake and in the name of poverty. This is a strong possibility. Hence our suggestion that the whole of society is to blame for the situation that these girls find themselves in.
Indeed, socio-economic conditions and the long history of deprivation of some communities create a conducive environment for prostitution to thrive.
But under no circumstance should that provide justification for prostitution.
It is unacceptable for any one, man or woman, to encourage girls this age to have sex for money and no amount of poverty would justify that, period.
Anyone who does that is not only breaking the law but also acting against every norm of the civilized society that we are.
Society must fight the scourge of child prostitution at all costs.
Our law enforcement agencies must not only target prostitutes but also the men who cause it. They must be hounded and hauled off the streets like the predators that they are. They are a public nuisance and must be shamed and treated as such.
In particular, the Women and Child Protection Unit of the Namibian police must hunt down those using young girls as prostitutes and prosecute them. They deserve no better.