COVID-19 scares away Sex Workers: Edzorna Mensah observes

The deadly Coronavirus has miraculously cleared some major streets in Accra of Commercial Sex Workers.

Notable streets, in and around Osu, Labone, Cantonment, La, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, East Legon, Nungua and Lapaz known as strategic places for sex work in the night are now empty.

Driving around these areas at late hours of Tuesday and Wednesday 24th, 25th of March, 2020 left me wondering where these “pretty sisters” of ours have gone to.

Hitherto, between 7pm and 5am everyday, these commercial Sex Workers would have lined-up in these areas in mini skirts, armless and v-neck dresses, exposing their shining looking breasts, hips and other vital parts of their bodies to their potential clients.

Sex work can be generally be defined as the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment or other tangible material profitable to one party (the lady).

The term “prostitution” broadly means the commission by a person of any natural or unnatural sexual act, deviate sexual intercourse, corpulation or sexual contact for monetary consideration or other thing of value where the woman is the beneficiary.

This act of prostitution is very common nowadays, it’s growing very rapidly among young ladies of school going age.

My checks and interactions indicate that some Ghanaian ladies who are University students have shamelessly joined other foreign nationals on the streets basically to make extra-cash by engaging in uncontrollable non-stop sex with strangers.

They make hundreds of dollars from foreign guys and few Cedis from local guys.

Some of the sex workers classified as low-class ladies make or collect as low as five and ten Ghana Cedis on what they refered to as bad days.

These smart looking ladies normally stand or position themselves near busy places like Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs and Clubs where guys are ready to pay for their services.

Hmmmmm…….as deadly as it is, Coronavirus has led to the closure of these highly patronized places.

And since the hospitality industry is currently on its knees begging for total shut down, so is the so-called oldest profession declining and it has declined completely during this period.

According to conflict theory, prostitution reflects the economic inequality in society.

Many poor women feel compelled to become sex workers because of their lack of money; because rich women have many other sources of income, the idea of becoming a sex worker is something they never have to consider.

I wish the situation remains so, even in the absence of Coronavirus known in Ewe Language as dorvor dorkliya.

Source: Edzorna Francis Mensah