By Lansana Fofana
FREETOWN, May 8 1997 (IPS)

For teenagers and young women forced into prostitution by the war that racked Sierra Leone from 1991 to 1996, life on the streets carries with it the risk of physical abuse and even death.

In late April, five sex workers disappeared after they set out in a boat to sell their services to fishermen from countries such as Spain, Korea and China whose ships were anchored off Freetown. Two months earlier, 20 others died in similar circumstances.

Prostitutes are also being victimised by gangs of youths in the Sierra Leonean capital.

St Helena Joint, at Kissy in eastern Freetown, has been repeatedly attacked by armed gang members who beat up the sex workers and steal their personal effects and money. Over 200 prostitutes aged 15 to 28 work at the establishment, which is one of 20-odd brothels located in run-down parts of the city,

At Paddy’s Night Club, in Freetown’s West End, local youths recently attacked some white tourists and stoned and beat the sex workers they were with. The youths were reportedly angered by the sight of the visitors having oral sex with the girls in the night club.

“That was disgusting,” an eyewitness told IPS. “Oral sex in the eyes of the public for 50 U.S. dollars? That was too much.”

Street gangs here have vowed to wipe out the capital’s prostitutes. One gang member told IPS “they are a menace to society and should be flushed out.”

But Margaret Sesay, who at 20 has been a commercial sex worker for five years, feels such an attitude is unwarranted. “I don’t know of any law that makes prostitution illegal,” she said.

There have been calls for an official ban on prostitution and others for the arrest of sex workers. Medical authorities, sociologists and members of the public have repeatedly expressed concern over the growth of the sex trade.

But Dr. Andrew Kosia, manager of the National Aids Control Programme (NACP), does not think beating up sex workers or making prostitution illegal is the answer.

“I don’t think either way will work,” he said. “If you harass them, they will go underground, and that is much more dangerous. What I think should be done is encourage them to come forward for free condom distribution.”

“We offer counselling services free of charge and give out condoms,” said Kosia, adding that 50 percent of all reported AIDS and HIV-related cases are prostitutes.

“The authorities need to do something about this growing problem,” Freetown resident Ali Deen told IPS. “We know that Aids is in our country and prostitutes are major carriers. Their activities must be monitored.”

Prostitution boomed here due to civil war between the government and the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The bulk of the war ended with a November 1996 peace agreement, but there have been skirmishes since then between the rebels and a militia made up of traditional hunters, and between the latter and government forces.

The civil conflict shattered families, disrupted education and crippled the economy, throwing many people out of their jobs. According to the youth ministry and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), hundreds of teenage girls dropped out of school and took to prostitution.

One of these girls, Janet (19), told IPS her father’s death forced her to leave school in Form Five. She then became a prostitute to support herself and her two younger sisters.

“My father used to be a businessman but was killed when the rebels overran the district in 1992,” says Janet. “Now I have to hustle men, have sex with them and then make the cash. It’s not much but when business is favourable, I go home with sixty U.S. dollars a night.”

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