How Africa
Poverty drives women in Lake Malawi to trade sex for fish.
The prevalence of poverty in many lakeside communities in sub-Saharan Africa forces people to engage in desperate activities to make ends meet. They often have no choice but to engage in precarious activities that pose serious risks to their health.
This is the same scenario observed in Lake Malawi. Fishing is a fundamental part of daily life in the Malawian communities that are close to the lakes. Thus, in most cases, a woman takes a fisherman’s catch and promises to pay for it once she has made enough sales. In the end, the woman does not manage to make enough sales to produce the money needed to pay the fisherman, so she repays the man by sex. Sex as a means of “compensation” can come either from the man or from the woman. It may be a tacit agreement or an explicit agreement.
This transactional sex is not a new phenomenon, but a phenomenon rooted in these societies. But not all those who go down this path are proud, because many fish traders do not want their neighbors to be aware of these transactions. It’s a secret, so it’s hard to come up with a figure that shows the number of fishers and fish sellers involved in this case.
In a society where the presence of HIV is a real threat, the risk of spreading the virus is simply too high. Poverty just makes things worse because people have little opportunity to improve their lives and make ends meet. It is a rough, cruel and perpetual cycle. It is because of this poverty that the fight against HIV seems to be an insurmountable struggle.
“Poverty is the main reason for truncating sex for fish,” says Kachikho.
One of the women selling fish in the village of Chisamba, Malawi, said: “Most fishermen want to have unprotected sex. They do not like condoms . “
While these conditions are flourishing, it is becoming difficult to fight HIV. And that is then perpetuated by abject poverty. Fishing areas along the shores of lakes are HIV sensitive areas. It is estimated that in Malawi, 1 in 10 adults aged 15 to 64 are HIV-positive according to UNAIDS.
Life is certainly difficult for women embarking on the sale of fish. Some fishermen can escape with their equipment. They take the fishing net. They are given money and they refuse to give the fish to the men. It’s a difficult world.
Other women who find better opportunities leave this work behind to start something new that does not put their lives at risk.
Swapping fish for sex is not easy for any woman. And fighting HIV becomes difficult in these circumstances. But if there are more opportunities for women and real attempts to reduce poverty, the lives of women in these communities will certainly change.
