A GROUP of prostitutes from around Durban expressed their annoyance after being arrested and fined by Metro Police in an apparent raid around the CBD, Morningside and Glenwood.
The truck load of women, one of whom was pregnant and many of the others with children, ranged in age from early twenties to late thirties. S
The women agreed to speak to Berea Mail on conditions of anonymity.”They (police) are not supposed to pick us up, we are not doing something wrong, I’m not stealing, ” said a 26-year-old pregnant woman from Johannesburg who was operating out of a bar on Anton Lembede (Smith) Street. The irritated woman did not seem to comprehend prostitution was illegal. “I work inside the bar so don’t always get caught. I can’t afford this R2500 fine but I’ll have to go to court and tell them so they can reduce it,” she said.
Four months of pregnancy has not deterred her or her customers, “I will not stop this job because it is hard to survive with a normal job, the pay is bad and you have taxes,” she said. While the woman talked proudly of her approximate R500 salary per day which she estimated was based on about five clients a day, she did acknowledge that her family back in Johannesburg were not aware of her occupation in Durban. “I only don’t work when I see my children, they live with their father so I see them when I’m free and they are too small to know what I do,” she added.
A 38-year-old Morningside prostitute said she wished she didn’t have to do what she does to make money but it was the only way to support her family in Mandeni when after she lost her job.
Another woman who was also fined told Berea Mail she commuted from Chatsworth to a hotel in Dr Pixley KaSeme (West) Street daily where she, like the others, charged a minimum of R100 per customer and an additional R50 for a “short time” half hour in the hotel’s rooms. “I’ve been doing this for two years but want to leave because even though my boyfriend is aware of what I do, he isn’t happy, she said.
The clean up operation is believed to be part of the City’s plan to show visibility and enforce the new nuisance bylaws.
In a raid last night Metro Police reportedly arrested 28 suspects for loitering, solicitation and drug possession. Rock cocaine, whoonga, cannabis, a remote jammer, knives and housebreaking equipment were recovered in the raid.
