Prostitutes Increase Rates Per Sexual Round

A news story from the The Accra Times on the 18 February 2010. The piece explains how the sex workers' union have decided to increase prices in response to the increased cost of living. The union also complains about the environment in which they are working and how it poses health risks.

Prostitutes Increase Rates Per Sexual Round
Accra Times

Commercial sex workers at Ashaiman, in the Greater Accra Region, have increased their rates from GH3.00 per sexual round to GH¢4.00, the Accra Times newspaper has been reliably informed.

The increment, according to the sex workers, took effect from January ending this year. A leading member of the Ashaiman “tuutuuline” branch of the commercial workers union, disclosed this during an interview with the Accra Times over the weekend. According to her, their decision to increase the rate from GH3.00 to GH4.000 was as a result of the recent increase of goods and services.

The member (name withheld) explained that the high cost of living that has hit the country in recent times was so alarming that in order to safeguard their profession; they needed to increase their rates. She explained that prices of pomades and clothes which they usually use to brighten their body, as well as food prices, have all gone up drastically, a situation which does not augur well for their trade for they do not profit from their trade at the end of the day.

“We pay for the structures we use, pay for electricity, attend to hospitals regularly for medical checks, buy buckets of water and take care of our families, all these call for money, hence if we sit aloof without doing anything to remedy the situation, our trade will collapse”, the member bemoaned, adding however that consideration would be given to those of their customers who would want to go for more than two rounds of sexual bouts.

She also bemoaned about the area where they practice their trade saying the area was not environmentally sound for them as it poses danger to their health, but since they have no other place to relocate to, they have to manage their life that way, and think of raising funds from their trade to go to the hospital any time they fell sick.