WESTERN PROVINCE

RUBAVU — A cross-section of sex workers affiliated to Ihorere Munyarwanda an association that is rehabilitating those practicing the illicit trade have appealed  for financial support in order to quit the trade.

Their call comes days after married women complained to the local authorities that sex workers in the area were ruining their marriages.

According to the Rubona cell coordinator, Claude Muragijimana, there have been cases of violence caused by married women storming prostitute’s houses in search of their husbands.

"Prostitutes here are a threat to marriages because many women complain that their husbands deal with the prostitutes in the area,” he said.

He added, "We are doing everything possible to address this problem especially after Ihorere Munyarwanda put them in an association and gave them pigs to help them generate income and quit prostitution.”

He noted that prostitutes had no reason of staying on streets after all the support and help given to them by Ihorere Munyarwanda an organization that supports the wellbeing of women in the country.

However, prostitutes who talked to The New Times said that although Ihorere Munyarwanda gave them pigs to help them fight poverty, they still needed more financial support to quit the trade.

"Yes its true we were put in an association and given a pig each to help us get out of poverty and stop prostitution but we still need help because the pigs given to us have not started giving us any output,” said one prostitute who gave her name as Vestine

Vestine explained that the association had promised to give them financial support to start small scale businesses but they have not kept their promise and it’s the reason they are still stuck in their trade.

"The pigs they gave us haven’t produced which currently puts us in almost the same state in which we were before getting them because we can not sell them to get money before they produce,” she added.

Claudette Mukaneza, a former prostitute and now representative of Ihorere Munyarwanda in Rubona, said that Ihorere had plans of extending more support to the prostitutes.

"Ihorere Munyarwanda gave them pigs and they promised to leave prostitution. I’m responsible for advising them to quit the practice. I have always tried to remind them of their promises to quit prostitution, a few of them have done so but many are still on streets,” Mukaneza said.

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