LUSAKA, Dec 7 (AFP) - Zambian police are cracking down on on prostitution in the country's major tourist town, Livingstone, where they have arrested 57 sex workers this week, police spokesman Lemmy Kajoba said Thursday.
Police made the arrests late Tuesday and charged them with "idleness and disorderly behavior", Kajoba said.
"We arrested 57 prostitutes in Livingstone. They all admitted to the offence and paid an admission fee the same night before we released them," Kajoba said.
The police raids on sex workers came after persistent complaints from tourists and residents in Livingstone, Kajoba said.
Livingstone is on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls, the largest tourist attraction here.
The number of prostitutes in Zambia has increased as the nation's economic troubles have deepened, despite the AIDS pandemic here.
About 19 percent of Zambia's adult population is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to UNAIDS.
Efforts by Zambian prostitutes to form a trade union last year were thwarted by both the government and existing trade unions.
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