Cotonou: Nights Under a Streetlamp

Jonquet neighborhood by day

The streets of Cotonou in the neighborhood of Jonquet are dark and characterless, apart from the young women who haunt the corners. Their flashy wares, jewelry, and brightly colored lips add some color to the otherwise monotonous concrete backdrop. Some wait under the puddles of light that stream down from the lamps at each intersection. Others gather by the flickering flames of vendors so that passersby can distinguish them from the shadows. Men on motorcycles forage for their preferred indulgence. These women are part of a group of young women who are considered to be the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS here in Benin. They are young commercial sex workers.

Most of these women will say that they did not choose to be here, that their nightly work is more like a chore. "I did not want this job. But I had no choice. I have to fight for myself," says Jennifer, who is originally from Ghana. She left her country optimistic about prospects for work and stayed in Benin as a sex worker because of the anonymity that a foreign country provides. Jennifer's mother is a single parent who is struggling to provide for her children and to secure their education. Jennifer says that seeing her mother suffer to provide for her and her brothers was heartbreaking: "I felt that the only way I could help her was to leave her house."

Jennifer crossed two borders to get here. For African nationals, travel within the West African economic zone is not restricted; as a result, there are many migrant sex workers like Jennifer in Benin. It is estimated that 40% of commercial sex workers in Cotonou come from the surrounding countries of Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast. When they get here, they have very little social support. Jennifer is disappointed by her experience in Benin. "I didn’t know it would be like this. There is no money in this country. Once I get out, I will never come back," she states. But she reckons it will take at least two more months until she can save enough money to return home and put herself through the next year of school. For the time being, she is stuck.

It is not only poverty that compels women in West Africa to turn to the sex trade. Many women in the region have been displaced from their countries due to instability and violence. When the uprising in Ivory Coast spread through the country into the capital in 2004, many people decided to flee. Emantile was one of them. As the rebels reached Abidjan, her parents implored the children to leave, fearing for their safety. She recalls, "The rebels blew up my house, a lot of people I knew died. They destroyed my neighborhood of D'Alva. After this happened, everyone left. There is no work in Abidjan anymore because of the war." Emantile was sent to Cotonou to stay with family friends. However, she feels like she is a burden in the household. Emantile is only 19 years old and her prospects to earn income are limited.

Women in health, Africa in health

Stories of poverty and displacement are echoed by many women up and down the streets of Jonquet. Their struggle to survive suggests why young sex workers are considered vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS. The actual numbers of infection are sobering. Gildas Addukonou directs Centre d'Etudes, de Recherches et d'Interventions pour le Development (CERID), an organization that provides sex workers with free medical treatment and counseling. He states that "30-40% of the sex workers that come to our clinic test HIV-positive." Sometimes, these women choose not to protect themselves; prevailing social attitudes towards sex and relationships may explain why this is a common decision.

All of the women who shared their stories insisted that they always use protection with their customers from the street. But health workers and clinic staff who test them remain concerned about transmission. The resident doctor at CERID, Carmelle Assogba, suggested an explanation: "Some young women who work in the sex trade are what we call clandestine sex workers. These women come to our center and admit that they have three or four sexual partners at a time. The men they are involved with may think that they are the only partner and do not insist on condoms. For the women, if they insist on protection, they are basically admitting unfaithfulness. So many women will choose to practice unsafe sex."

Evelyn, a 20-year old Nigerian who is in Cotonou for only one month with hopes of making money, is among many others who are new to sex work. She has a boyfriend in Nigeria to whom she will return. She admits, "I had sex for the first time two months ago. When we had sex, we didn't use condoms." Evelyn loves her boyfriend and fears that he will find out that she has kept other sexual partners. If her boyfriend suspects that she has been unfaithful, she may choose not to use condoms with him as a demonstration of trustrworthiness.

Transmission chain of HIV/AIDS

In the bigger picture, aversion to condom use may be an unfortunate side effect of the social marketing messages that people are exposed to about HIV/AIDS. If people are in relationships, they are encouraged to be faithful to their partner (the B in the ABC's). However, as Evelyn's story suggests, many women may want to keep their boyfriends in the dark about other partners. Since condom use is seen as a sign of mistrust, women and men alike can be willing to risk contracting HIV in order to feel secure in a relationship.

Fortunately, many organizations are stepping up efforts to sensitize young women in the sex trade about the dangers of these sexual practices. Benin's public health system has recognized the importance of a proactive stance on the preventative education of and treatment efforts for sex workers. All of the young women interviewed in Jonquet had recently visited the public, state-run Cotonou Medical Center to test for sexually transmitted infections and HIV. They receive 2,000 CFA ($4) each time they carry out the tests. Joy, a 18-year old from Nigeria, admits, "I used to go every day because I needed the money. Now I go every once in a while to get counseling and to just talk with the counselors who are there." CERID lobbies actively on behalf of young sex workers. Their efforts help to bring services like these into existence.

CERID operates on a mandate to offer no-cost services and medications to all women who are seeking treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, including free anti-retroviral drugs for those who are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Since its launch in 1996, CERID has grown into a community of 600 women, some of whom have decided to leave the sex trade. Other members still work in the sex trade but visit the center regularly to ensure sound sexual health. For women who want to pursue other professions, the organization provides access to small business loans from a credit institution. Gildas Addukonou, the Director of CERID, takes pride in the accomplishments of his organization; he states, "Out of all the women that have tested HIV-negative at our center, not one of them has become HIV-positive. Most who are still working on the street come back monthly to get tested."

A warm welome for sisters at CERID's clinic in Cotonou

Aside from the treatment and counseling services at its clinic, CERID has five outreach workers who are posted in the various neighborhoods known for prostitution. Germinne is posted in Jonquet and has become friends with Jennifer, Evelyn, Emantile, and Joy. Every night, she sits with the girls at a bar in Jonquet to talk about health issues and just about everything else. When Emantile walked off with a customer, her slender hips swaying over her exaggerated high heels, Germinne said, "It is very important that someone talk with these ladies about the choices that they are making. They are all so young. I watch them with their customers each night and I tell them to be safe. But I also encourage the women to think about other choices. I tell them about my job as a trader at the market."

For those in the conventional sex trade, the decision to use protection is often clearer; condoms are easy to insist upon when having sex with a stranger. However, all of the young women interviewed are planning to return to their home countries within a few months' time. The sex trade has not been as profitable as they expected; they will all be returning poor. If they find a boyfriend or a rich man who promises to pay for their education, they may decide to appear faithful or innocent by having unprotected sex. But hopefully, they will remember what they learned in Cotonou. "What we teach them are techniques of negotiation. These women just mostly need the confidence to insist on protection every time," says Wilfried Assiame, another outreach worker from CERID.

The message is getting through, at least at this one bar in Jonquet. 18-year old Joy from Nigeria said, "I am very happy that somebody is out here giving condoms away for free. I didn't realize that sexually active people can insist on condoms every time before I met these health workers." While statements such as these are a promising sign that organizations like CERID are achieving their goals, the rate of HIV infection among sex workers still remains high. According to the statistics, at least one of these four young women is already HIV-positive.

If you would like to contact CERID, please write:

Gildas Addukonou
Director, CERID-ONG
P.O. Box 03BP3175
Cotonou, Benin

Telephone: (00229) 97983179  or  (00229) 21308133
Email: ceridong@yahoo.fr


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