In a show of solidarity, colour, song and energy, over 150 male and female sex workers marched in the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya, to mark International Sex Workers Rights Day; a day celebrated on 3 March to highlight the contribution of sex workers all over the world.

The day, which has become an annual event in most countries, has been celebrated in Kenya since last year when the first public celebrations were held in Mombasa.

The sex workers assembled at the Florida 2000 discotheque on Koinange Street where they wore facial masks written ‘Sex workers rights are human rights’. Sporting red T-shirts and carrying red umbrellas, they began the long march through Kenyatta Avenue towards Kimathi Street then City Hall Way and back to Koinange Street.

Chanting slogans and singing, the sex workers caused a stir with onlookers stopping to watch in awe.

‘We are here to celebrate the fact we are sex workers. We want to be appreciated for who we are and not be discriminated against,’ said Mercy Ngeno, a sex worker from Buruburu’s Eastland estate. She had brought along five of her friends, also sex workers, to the event.

‘Most people assume sex workers are dirty, poor, uneducated women and men who sell their bodies to survive. Whereas this may be partly true, that is not always the case. There are high class women and men who sell sex. They wear nicely and drive cars. Sex workers come in different shapes and forms,’ said John Mathenge, the National Coordinator for Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA) who organized the event.

The sex workers walked to the Supreme Court building where they were addressed by the organisers and called for justice since many report being arrested on trumped up charges. Additionally, they, in a show of protest, prostrated on the road to show they have been ‘put down’ and ‘disappointed’ by the justice system.

Peninah Mwangi, the Executive Director of Bar Hostess and Empowerment and Support Program (BHESP) that serves bar hostesses and sex workers, said that sex workers are targeted by the city council and the Council’s by laws are used to arrest them.

‘A sex worker can be arrested for walking at night on the streets and is charged for loitering or drunkenness. Others are arrested when walking out of bars or clubs late at night. Others for smoking and solicitation,’ she remarked. ‘No one has been charged for sex work per se,’ she added.

Sex work is not illegal in Kenya. What is termed as 'illegal' is living off the proceeds of sex work. Commonly referred to as ‘prostitution’ sex worker activists are now referring to it as sex work for a reason.

‘Sex work is work just like being a doctor, teacher, pilot or politician. I wake up to go look for clients and service them. I earn from sex work and this is what pays my rent. Why then say it’s immoral or illegal or a crime? I am using my body to earn money. Is there anything wrong?’ said Mantully Ngao, a male sex worker activist.

A key message that the marchers wanted to pass across was the problem of stigma and discrimination they face in their lives and work. These include challenges in accessing health, legal, medical and social services. Reports of sex workers being refused treatment in hospitals are commonly reported.

‘If a sex worker goes into a hospital, they should be treated with dignity and respect, just like anyone else,’ said Fabian Stanley, who identifies as a gay male sex worker. His clients are predominantly married men. Fabian says that gay and male sex workers face ‘double stigma’ in that they are not only hated for being homosexual but in addition to being sex workers.

‘One of my friends, also a sex worker, was afraid of going to hospital to seek medication after he got an STI since he feared telling the doctors. The infection was in his anal area and he was afraid of being asked how he got it. Unfortunately, he self medicated and made things worse; it only took our intervention to save him,’ said Fabian.

Cases of sex workers being assaulted, raped or sodomized are on the increase. This led to sex workers to march in December last year to decry this situation.

John Mathenge shared a recent case of a sex worker who had her genitals burned by a hot water heater from a client who had refused to pay her.

‘She is now in hospital undergoing treatment. The assailant had refused to pay her and when she decided to shout, he gagged her and tied her and then inserted a water heater in her vagina. This was after he further raped her,’ said Mathenge.

Decriminalization of sex work is also key, according to Daughtie Ogutu, a Board member of KESWA and an ‘inactive’ sex worker. She is now a sex worker activist.

‘The city’s by laws are largely used to arrest, put into custody and charge sex workers. They need to be amended and we hope that our recommendations and demands will be met by the City Council,’ said Daughtie.

The Mayor of Nairobi George Aladwa was set to release a sex workers report prepared by a committee of sex worker representatives and city council officials, formed early last month.

‘We went and lay down on the entrance to City Hall to show that we are attentive to what the Mayor will say tomorrow during the media briefing on the sex workers report. We are hoping that our recommendations will be taken into account,’ Daughtie remarked.

The City Council is notorious for arresting sex workers. Using a ‘vice squad’ a team of officials and askaris ply the streets of Nairobi to arrest anyone found late at night. They are then bundled in a van and taken to holding cells at City Hall. Here, most are held in custody and then taken to court to answer charges. Lucky sex workers often bribe their way out.

‘I was arrested and taken by the Kanjo (slang for City Council) and then while I was inside, I called an askari and told him I had KShs 1,000. He took it and let me go. Many others do it,’ said Francis, a male sex worker.

According to the organizers, the day was meant to celebrate sex workers as well as increase awareness of violations and abuses many suffer. ‘We recognize diversity; whether you are gay, straight or transgender, we are all sex workers,’ said Mathenge.

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* Denis Nzioka is an intern with Fahamu’s Reclaim Initiative. He is editor of Identity Kenya magazine where this report also appears.
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