{"id":2775,"date":"2021-02-19T08:49:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T13:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pathfinder.local\/?post_type=essay&p=2775"},"modified":"2023-03-08T09:04:21","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:04:21","slug":"encouraging-respect-for-sex-workers-rights-in-mozambique","status":"publish","type":"essay","link":"https:\/\/www.pathfinder.org\/impact-stories\/encouraging-respect-for-sex-workers-rights-in-mozambique\/","title":{"rendered":"Encouraging Respect for Sex Workers\u2019 Rights in Mozambique"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I\u2019m proud of my work because my income supports nine people.<\/p>\nFatima<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since Fatima turned 14, she has been a mother, a mechanic, and a housekeeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur parents passed away from cholera when I was about 14 years old and I dropped out of school to look after my sister and brother,\u201d said Fatima, who lives in Maputo, Mozambique. \u201cThis is how my story started. We didn\u2019t have food and I was the oldest, so I felt very responsible for my siblings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fatima turned to a variety of jobs to earn enough cash, but nothing was lucrative enough. One day that changed when she was cleaning her neighbor\u2019s house. \u201cI once found a lot of cash under her pillow when I was doing the cleaning and I was so curious about where she got this money from. I eventually figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her neighbor was a sex worker\u2014and Fatima soon followed in her footsteps. Fatima secretly followed her neighbor one night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI got on the same bus she got onto, hiding myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She then found a group of older sex workers who took her in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a sex worker, Fatima finally said that she doesn\u2019t have to struggle financially. \u201cI\u2019m proud of my work because my income supports nine people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sex workers move in groups to support and protect each other. This group took me in because I was young and they wanted to help me. They explained to me how it all works.<\/p>\nFatima<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Making sex work safer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sex work is a dangerous job\u2014no matter how you look at it. Sex workers are regularly victims of physical and sexual abuse. Some clients refuse to wear condoms, exposing sex workers to HIV. Law enforcement can be perpetrators of violence themselves, and as a result, many sex workers are reluctant to trust the police and avoid reporting violence or seeking legal aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pathfinder International works with partners including the Aidsfonds-supported Hands Off program<\/a> to protect the rights, health, and well-being of sex workers like Fatima. This includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n