NGO condemns abuse of sex workers

 

By ALEX NJOVU

 
A NON-GOVERNMENTAL organisation on the Copperbelt has condemned a group of unknown men who abducted 10 suspected sex workers in Kitwe on Friday and sexually abused them.
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Copperbelt co-ordinator Jurita Mutale called on Zambians to respect and uphold women’s rights.
She condemned the gang for attacking women and called on the police to investigate the matter.
She said it is unfortunate that a group of men abducted 10 sex workers in Kitwe and raped them.
Ms Mutale described the offenders as cowards who don’t know how to propose love to a woman.
“In the first place, sex workers don’t force themselves on men, they just offer a commodity to the market which is readily available worldwide,” she said.
She said it is worrying that some men have continued abusing women and called for concerted efforts in addressing challenges facing both women and children in Zambia.
Ms Mutale said sex workers have got rights which should be respected by people.
One of the victims among the 10 women who were abducted from Independence Avenue around 02:00 hours on Friday said in an interview that they were taken to a place near Garnatone residential area where they were beaten and sexually abused.
The woman, who had difficulty in narrating her ordeal, said she and her colleagues were picked from various spots around the town centre in different vehicles by their abductors, who told them that they would be paid a lot of money if they agreed to go with them to an unknown place.
She said there were about 30 men in the operation and she accused the gang of stealing their money that they had earned earlier.
The victim said she and her colleagues escaped in their nakedness using a back door after the men slept in their drunken stupor.