Factors That Influence the Increase of Prostitution in Bulawayo’s Business Centre

Abstract

Abstact: The study sought to assess the factors that influence the increase of prostitution in Bulawayo's Business Centre. It is generally noted that many young women married or unmarried, employed and unemployed, including teenagers of between 13 to17 years are involved in prostitution. It is observed that there many brothels, bars and hotels that attract quite a number of young women. The government's efforts initiated in curtailing the rate of prostitution through criminalising commercial sex-work by arresting and detaining those suspected of loitering or soliciting for clients seems to have failed. A Mixed Methods Approach which combines quantitative and qualitative paradigms was adopted. Due to the clandestine operation of prostitutes, the exact size could not be ascertained; however, a sample of 25 respondents was used in the study which was selected through snowballing sampling technique. The findings revealed that Zimbabwe's dire economic situation has forced many young women into prostitution. The majority of the prostitutes were also found to be drug and alcohol abusers. The study also revealed that the enforcement agents were the main prostitute-abusers who arrested women walking in the streets at night on suspicion of loitering or soliciting for commercial sex-work. The increase of women involved in prostituting activitiesin a country that criminalises the phenomenon indicates that the country is not addressing the problem but the symptom. Therefore, the major focus should be directed towards equalization of political opportunities in which women are educationally and economically empowered.