Horrors of prostitution in Durban revealed
Barbara Cole
January 09 2006 at 10:45AM

A beautiful blonde Durban prostitute, who has Aids, infected about 10 000 men with the killer disease before quitting the age-old profession.

A drinker and a "druggie" who would steal from her clients after giving them knock-out drops, she had followed in the footsteps of her prostitute mother and began selling her body aged just 17.

Like most of the hundreds of prostitutes working in Durban, the woman - now in her 20's and married with children - had been raped while growing up.

She operated mainly from city clubs, never used protection and slept with about 20 men a day, said American missionary Sister Petra Luna, who told of the tally of 10 000 men in a report seen by the Daily News.

Luna, who operates the Life-Place Care Centre mission, run by Doctors For Life International, in Pickering Street - in the heart of the city's red-light district - first met the prostitute as she lay sprawled in the gutter at the corner of Point and Smith Streets.

Drunk and high on cocaine and just having been beaten up, she was amazed when Luna approached and told her that "Jesus loves you."

And she took it to heart when the missionary said she wanted to help her change her life.

"In spite of her sinful life, a divine intervention from heaven made the earth move for a woman who flirted with prostitution, crime and drugs," said Luna in her report on the case.

Having turned her back on her previous life, the retired, rehabilitated one-time hooker now lives a quiet life in a city suburb with her family.

Luna has "saved" almost 300 prostitutes (including a male "pimp") during the year she has been running the mission.

"It's not me, though. It's Jesus," Luna said.

The rehabilitated sex workers have either returned to their homes or go to missions in KwaZulu-Natal and the Cape, where they receive counselling and learn new skills which will enable them to earn a legal living.

Computer and sewing machine training is also to be given by the Joshua Generation, a religious organisation in Durban's Point area.

The Point Community Court will also be referring prostitutes who want to change their lifestyles, to the organisation.

The chairperson of the Point Community Police Forum, Pastor Krish Naidoo, who has vowed to clean up the Point, is now involved in the work of the Life-Place mission.

Despite her many successes, Sister's Luna's work is far from over.

There are still "hundreds" of prostitutes on the street, and she says most of them are HIV-positive. Many are in denial, though.

There are also some 20 male prostitutes who earn a living from wealthy men who pick them up in expensive cars at North Beach.

Where do they go?

"If not to lower-class hotels, often to Morningside, where there are a lot of dark places." And fewer police cameras.

One male prostitute is currently awaiting trial, charged with kidnapping by the wife of a man who allegedly picked him up "and partied with him for a few days," said Luna.

There were also cases of men picking up male prostitutes and taking them home.

"They then watch their wives having sex with them," Luna said.

A family - mother, father and their two sons - are also working as prostitutes in North Beach.

There is also a 10-year-old boy and his scantily-clad 14-year-old sister doing sex work at the Point.

"They do it because they have nowhere else to go. Like other prostitutes, they use their money for drugs," Luna said.

Luna and Naidoo are hoping to get the welfare authorities to step in to remove them. If Luna had her way, their clients would be prosecuted for child abuse.

Luna has a good relationship with the prostitutes and their pimps because she says she does not judge them.

"I'm their friend," she said. Minutes later, a smartly-dressed Nigerian pimp, with a gold cross around his neck, knocked on her door to wish her a Happy New Year.

"I'll be at the church service tomorrow," he promised.

"And bring your girls," urged Luna, as the pimp nodded.

She visits street corners and escort agencies throughout the night to chat to prostitutes.

Wasn't she scared?

"Even though I go out with a small team of helpers, I was almost raped once. But I demonstrated my karate kick and my would-be attacker quickly backed off and even apologised," she said.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&art_id=vn20060109094321154C410882

I can't help thinking that this is a particularly badly written article. The first sentence is quite startling; "infected about 10,000 men with the killer disease"

This is highly unlikely as the chances of transmission of HIV from female to male are not that high, even without a form of barrier protection. I'M NOT SAYING IT'S SAFE!!! I'm just pointing out that it's not a foregone conclusion that a male WILL contract HIV from a female partner.

She may well have had unprotected sex 10,000 times (almost certainly not with 10,000 different men), but this doesn't mean 10,000 infections.

An article that starts with such an uncritical statement must be taken as dubious in its entirety.

It's very sad that young people get into criminal activites because of drug addiction, and I'm all in support of people like Sister Luna who run help programmes for those who find themselves in that unfortunate situation.

HM