High Cost of Condoms Forces Sex Workers to use Bread Packs, accepts Beans and Maize for Payment

According to reports, some sex workers in Zimbabwe are increasingly using bread packets as contraception due to the rising cost of condoms and other necessities.

They have resorted to using bread wrappers as a substitute, according to a 21-year-old Mutare call girl who began sex work at 16.

In an interview with Manica Post, a medical practitioner, Dr Tendai Zuze, confirmed the claim.

Bread packets are not robust enough to survive friction during sex, according to him, and can easily break, exposing the user to sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy.

Another local news outlet, iHarare, reported that some sex workers are now accepting buckets of maize and cups of beans as payment from clients.

One sex worker who simply identified herself as Alice said,

“Gone are the days when we used to charge US$5 for the whole night. These days even one dollar is accepted so that you are able to buy vegetables and tomatoes and cook something for your starving children.”

She said she has three children – one in Form 4, another in Grade 7 and the last in Grade 1 – and needs money to cater for them.

“I now even accept a bucket of maize or cups of dried beans as payment for sex services. At least I am assured that my kids will have porridge,” she added.

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