Forced to sell themselves to survive

By Dinouk Colombage-Monday, 11 Nov 2013

On the streets of Pettah, once the hustle and bustle of the day market is over, with the back roads relatively deserted, prostitutes, an unspoken side of Sri Lanka's society comes forth, take up their trade. Women who have been abandoned by their families, financially desperate or simply forced into the business, walk the streets looking for clients and in the process risk their own safety.

With prostitution being illegal in Sri Lanka, many of the prostitutes refused to give their real names when spoken to fearing that they would be arrested.

Sumaya, a thirty-four-year-old woman, was loitering outside a small tea kiosk frequented by truck drivers and workers in the Pettah market. After initially refusing to speak she admitted that she was a prostitute.

Abandoned by family

"It is not a career that I would have ever chosen if I had any other options. I used to work in a garment factory in the Free Trade Zone, I moved to the city over ten years ago with the possibility of work in these factories. However, when working there many girls were assaulted by their male supervisors. It happened to me more than once and I used to avoid reporting it for fear of repercussions. I was finally convinced to report it to the management at the factory. They did not believe me and instead fired me from the job," she said.

Scared of attempting to take any further action against her unfair dismissal from the factory, Sumaya tried to return to her home village in the Central Province. However, upon learning why she had been forced to leave Colombo her family and friends in the village abandoned her, refusing to let her live with them. "I had no choice but to stay in Colombo and getting work in another factory was not possible. Once you are dismissed from one, other places will not hire you, and there certainly is no shortage of girls willing to work there," Sumaya explained.

With her options limited she started working at a 'hotel' in Pettah which played host to numerous truck drivers who had come from other areas. "Working at the hotel ensures I have a roof over my head and also some safety, what I earn from the truck drivers and other men is enough to cover the cost of food and clothes," she said, adding that if given the opportunity she would certainly find other work.

Having seen Sumaya openly speaking another woman started explaining her story, introducing herself as Amanthi she said that she was forced to turn to prostitution after her husband abandoned her and her three-year-old son. "My husband walked out on us a year ago leaving me with no money to bring up my son. I could not find work anywhere else and have since turned to prostitution,"she said.

Amanthi said that in the nights she is forced to leave her son with a friend while she works, "he does not know what I do for a living and I never would want him to know. Every night, I frequent the restaurants that cater all night to the workers of the area. It is safest here as the owners know us and do not alert the police about our presence; in turn I give them a percentage of my earnings." While refusing to show where she takes her clients, she explained that it was a reliable place which provided protection in case they got violent. Her earnings are not much and because of that she has been forced into debt, "I earn no more than Rs 5,000 from a client and I do not get work every night. Because I have borrowed from people I need to keep working to pay off those debts, I see no real exit from this industry."

Doesn't want son to know

With prostitution being illegal in the country many of these prostitutes are fearful of being arrested. Kumari, a 29-year-old prostitute, explained that she has been forced to seek protection from local three-wheeler drivers while working. "I have done this for over a year now and have been assaulted once or twice by the clients refusing to pay me. Now there is a three-wheeler driver who will be nearby in case I get into trouble", she explained.

However, Kumari said that she is also forced to be on the lookout for the police as well, "the police will often arrest us and charge us heavy fines. I cannot afford to pay those fines, and afterwards we have to find a new place to work because they are watching those areas." She accused some police officers of demanding sex in return for not arresting them. "If I refuse they would arrest me and make things even more difficult; sometimes other prostitutes pay the police off but I do not earn enough to do so," she said.

Despite the police having denied these accusations, insisting that they uphold the law and arrest anyone found to be offering sex for money, Kumari was not the only prostitute to claim that the police were doing this.

Many of the prostitutes in Pettah work on their own with a male companion as a source of protection when needed. While they have admitted that working in groups would be a safer option, it is still not something that is commonly practised.

The social stigma that accompanies such a profession has led to unsafe working conditions, increasing incidence of AIDS among the women and increased drug abuse. Sandra Fernando, a social worker dealing with prostitutes, explained that the greatest threat faced by the prostitutes is their desire to keep their profession secret. "The lack of legal protection and the social black-mark that is associated with the profession has meant they are forced to work in conditions that are less than acceptable," she said.

Fernando explained that they were petitioning the government to legalize prostitution, "It is one of the oldest professions in the world. Women will keep resorting to it as long as they are desperate and there is a demand. If there are legal guidelines in place the women will have protection from abuse and will be educated on the need for safe sex. Unfortunately the authorities do not want to address this."

Despite the unwillingness of the people to acknowledge the situation, prostitution in Sri Lanka is prevalent and does not appear to be on the decline.

(The names have been changed to protect the identity of the women)