AEGiS-SAPA: Health department rejects sex worker training claims

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Health department rejects sex worker training claims

South African Press Association - February 12, 2008

The North West department of health on Tuesday rejected suggestions that young people were trained to become sex workers using government money. "The three complainants from Schweizer Reneke were invited to attend a workshop in Mmabatho to teach the youth about HIV, drug abuse and crime," spokesperson Nthabiseng Makhongoana said. She was reacting to a report in which three young girls alleged they were taught how to be sex workers at a North West health workshop.

According to the report, a nurse apparently lured them to the workshop under the pretext that they were going to be trained as peer educators. Makhongoana said the department was running a "high-transmission area programme" for the prevention and spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/Aids among commercial sex workers and truck drivers. "This is not a programme meant to train people to become prostitutes," she said in a statement.

Makhongoana said the "peer education" entailed the training of people from targeted areas through a process of role-playing, story telling, general information on STIs and HIV/Aids and how to prevent infections. "At no stage whatsoever are people trained by the department on how to become sex workers." The department's programme was running in 20 sub-districts in the province at so-called "hot spots" where commercial sex workers were present. Makhongoana said HIV/Aids coordinators at district level identified unemployed youths from the community and sex workers, who were willing to assist in the programme and to be trained as peer educators. The peer educators were paid a stipend of R500 and were expected to educate sex workers and the neighbouring communities near the "hot spots" on HIV prevention -- and where to access health services.

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