This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For more info see our Cookies Policy. She says she is 16, but she sells herself to men as a 14 year-old child. She has been doing this every day for past four years.
Both girls are drug addicts. They have unprotected sex with customers every day. Their clients come from all walks of life. Often, they are men looking for sex with a child. She ran away from home because of constant beatings. She was put in an orphanage, but ran away again but it did not help.
The law says children that solicit sex on the street can be held under a temporary detention order and later be sent to a place of safety. But overwhelmingly, the children return to the streets. She has little chance of ever making a fresh start. Not many care- or rehabilitation-facilities exist.
Those that do, struggle for resources. So these children are largely left to fend for themselves. In many cases their clients don't even wear condoms. They want bare sex with a child. The Child Protection Unit detects a client picking up a child prostitute.
They give chase. It is the clients' duty to determine how old the prostitute is. There is not much the police can do and they simply give the men a warning. The Child Protection Unit is understaffed and under resourced and was until recently threatened with closure. At least in Nomsa's case, she is being taking care of by an organisation called The Teddybear Clinic, who try and find a place of safety for girls like her.
