{"id":532,"date":"2014-02-17T11:02:32","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T11:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citi.hatuasolutions.com\/?p=532"},"modified":"2014-02-17T11:02:32","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T11:02:32","slug":"kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya’s battle to end ‘sex for fish’ trade"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FISHH\"<\/a>
Sex for fish is very dangerous because every day we realise that people are dying from HIV and Aids\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya bustle with business – wooden fishing boats competing for space, carrying in the morning catch of tilapia, perch or catfish.<\/p>\n

Under the scorching sun, the fishermen bargain with those queuing up to buy: mainly women, who hope to make a small profit at the local market.<\/p>\n

But in this deeply poor part of Kenya, the transaction between fisherman and female market seller is rarely a financial one.<\/p>\n

The currency is sex, not money: women selling their bodies in the hope of taking back a prize catch.<\/p>\n

The practice is known colloquially as “sex for fish” – or, in the Luo language of the area, “jaboya”.<\/p>\n

Lucy Odhiambo, 35, prepares her latest purchase for the market, descaling the fish and slitting them open to remove their innards. A widow and mother of five, she says women here are in a bind.<\/p>\n

“I’m forced to pay for the fish with sex because I have no other means,” she tells the BBC.<\/p>\n

“Usually I sleep with one or two fishermen a week. I could get diseases but I have no other choice: I have my children to send to school. Jaboya is an evil practice.”<\/p>\n

The “disease” is indeed widespread here – the HIV infection rate in this area is almost 15%, double the national average – and it is largely down to “sex for fish”.<\/p>\n

‘No longer dependent on men’<\/strong><\/p>\n

But, slowly, the tide is turning.<\/p>\n

Agnes Auma takes me out on the lake aboard a boat she now owns.<\/p>\n

It is steered by fishermen she employs and when they catch the fish, she manages the sale.<\/p>\n

Some of the money is paid to her staff, some is used to repay the cost of the boat – and the rest she keeps.<\/p>\n

It is a project run by a local charity called Vired, supported by the US Peace Corps, and it is changing the lives of the women involved.<\/p>\n

We talk as the boat winds its way past reeds and water hyacinth, the fishermen sweating as they navigate the narrow path.<\/p>\n

“I saw I would have died, giving up my body for fish – and I couldn’t continue,” Ms Auma says.<\/p>\n

“This project means I no longer have to depend on men to survive. I can fend for myself. And when I repay the money for the boat, I do it with a clean conscience.”<\/p>\n

As we reach the open lake, the net is unfurled for Ms Auma’s catch.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, it is brought in: kilograms of silver cyprinid – the size of whitebait – glisten in the morning sun.<\/p>\n

And then a large lungfish is brought up, slithering on to the boat as Ms Auma keeps watch.<\/p>\n

“I’m very happy and proud of my fishermen and I’m very happy that I’m a strong fisher lady,” she says with a smile.<\/p>\n

To date, just 19 women are part of the project but Vired hopes it will gradually build.<\/p>\n

“Sex for fish is very dangerous because every day we realise that people are dying from HIV and Aids,” says Dan Abuto from the charity.<\/p>\n

“We need to ignite these women, to empower them so they can take charge of their destiny. We are very proud because it’s having a positive impact.”<\/p>\n

‘I am ashamed’<\/strong><\/p>\n

But this is just one part of a country where “jaboya” is common.<\/p>\n

And even here, there are plenty of fishermen still happy to accept payment in kind.<\/p>\n

I meet one, Felix Ochieng, a 26-year-old who is married but still sleeps with three women a week in return for his fish.<\/p>\n

He tells me sometimes a female customer will pay 500 Kenyan shillings ($6; \u00a33.50) in cash and another 500 shillings with their body.<\/p>\n

“I inherited this practice from my father, who used to do the same,” he says, promising he uses a condom.<\/p>\n

I ask if he is ashamed of what he does.<\/p>\n

“Yes I am ashamed,” he replies, staring out at the lake, “and it’s a bad thing. But there are temptations that come with women.”<\/p>\n

Still some way to go then to eradicate a risky, long-entrenched practice.<\/p>\n

But little by little, the numbers involved are falling and the women of Lake Victoria are understanding the dangers involved.<\/p>\n

To end “sex for fish” for good, though, will require a change of mindset, for gender attitudes to be overturned.<\/p>\n

And that will be far harder: a challenge to bring the purchase of fish here above board for good.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source : BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya bustle with business – wooden fishing boats competing for space, carrying in the morning catch of tilapia, perch or catfish. Under the scorching sun, the fishermen bargain with those queuing up to buy: mainly women, who hope to make a small profit at the local market. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"\nKenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya bustle with business – wooden fishing boats competing for space, carrying in the morning catch of tilapia, perch or catfish. Under the scorching sun, the fishermen bargain with those queuing up to buy: mainly women, who hope to make a small profit at the local market. But […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-17T11:02:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/\",\"name\":\"Kenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-17T11:02:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-17T11:02:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kenya’s battle to end ‘sex for fish’ trade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\",\"name\":\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"description\":\"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\",\"name\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","og_description":"The shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya bustle with business – wooden fishing boats competing for space, carrying in the morning catch of tilapia, perch or catfish. Under the scorching sun, the fishermen bargain with those queuing up to buy: mainly women, who hope to make a small profit at the local market. But […]","og_url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/","og_site_name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3","article_published_time":"2014-02-17T11:02:32+00:00","author":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@citi973","twitter_site":"@citi973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/","name":"Kenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-02-17T11:02:32+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-17T11:02:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/02\/kenyas-battle-to-end-sex-for-fish-trade\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kenya’s battle to end ‘sex for fish’ trade"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/","name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","description":"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1","name":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kojo Akoto Boateng"},"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}