BISHOP STUART UNIVERSITY

NAME: KABASHEKYE ESTER

REG NO: 20/BSU/BSWSA/2210

FACULTY: BUSINESS, ECONOMICS AND GOVERNANCE

DEPARTMENT: SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION

YEAR: ONE

SEMESTER: TWO

LECTURER: MADAM TUTARYEBWA FLORENCE

COURSE UNIT: SEXUALITY AND SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Question:

Following the outbreak of corona virus in the world, Uganda in particular. Public places such as;
bars, hotels, lodges have been closed. Commercial sex worker are faced with a situation of
uncertainty considering that these have been their source of livelihood, and places of residence.

a) Basing on the above situation .Examine prostitution as a social problem.

b) Basing on the social work perspective design possible interventions to address the
problem.
 a) Prostitution.

This involves the selling of sex. This means that money is the key feature of prostitution. As
such, money is also the major motivation for women who become prostitutes, as most of them
come from low-income backgrounds. For indoor workers, and especially call girls, prostitution is
a potentially well-paying occupation.

According to conflict theory, prostitution reflects the economic inequality in society. Many poor
women feel compelled to become prostitutes because of their lack of money; because wealthier
women have many other sources of income, the idea of becoming a prostitute is something they
never have to consider.

For example, everybody knows that prostitution exists in our society and that it causes serious
problems to the members of our society, including such problems as lack of morality, the spread
of different sexually transmitted diseases, violence, crimes, alcohol/drug abuse, women
discrimination, violation of human.

Many are recruited into prostitution by force, fraud or coercion. Some women need money to
support themselves and their children; others need money to support their drug habits. Abuse is a
common theme in the lives of prostitutes many were abused as children, either physically or
sexually or both.

It’s generally accepted that prostitution legislation and policy in the Uganda is confusing,
contradictory and out of date and that it’s time for reform. But before we can understand what
the solution to a problem should look like, we need a full understanding of that problem.

Prostitution Normalizes Violence: Sexual violence and physical assault are the norm for women
in legal prostitution. A Dutch study states that 60% of women in legal prostitution were
physically assaulted, 70% were threatened with physical assault, and 40% had been coerced into
legal prostitution.

Attitudes in law enforcement and the general public have reoriented themselves towards
punishing the pimp and client due to their potential to harm prostitutes. The law still punishes
prostitutes for their illegal activity but is not as harsh due to the unfortunate nature of their role in
society.
Other people also do not like prostitution, but they believe that the laws against prostitution do
more harm than good. They think that legalizing prostitution would reduce the various harms
prostitution causes, and they believe that views about the immorality of prostitution should not
prevent our society from dealing more wisely with it than it does now.

Prostitutes and their customers have various understandings of their behavior that help them
justify why they engage in this behavior. Many prostitutes believe they are performing an
important service for their customers, and this belief is perhaps more common among indoor
prostitutes than among street prostitutes.

Prostitution arises from women’s poverty in a patriarchal society. It also reflects the continuing
cultural treatment of women as sex objects who exist for men’s pleasure.

Prostitution exploits women. Many feminists argue that prostitution is rooted in the patriarchal
oppression of women and is an affront to gender equality. The former UN special rapporteur on
trafficking, Sigma Huda, says: “It is rare that one finds a case in which the path to prostitution
and/or a person’s experience does not involve, at the very least, an abuse of power and/or an
abuse of vulnerability.”

Prostitution is dangerous. Many campaigners and feminists argue that prostitution, whether
voluntary or not, is a form of violence against women. Care, a Christian charity argues that
physical abuse and rape is commonplace in prostitution and campaigns for the criminalization of
all purchases of sexual services.

Prostitution is functional for several parties in society. It provides prostitutes a source of income,
and it provides a sexual alternative for men who lack a sexual partner or are dissatisfied with
their current sexual partner. According to Kingsley Davis, prostitution also helps keep the
divorce rate lower than it would be if prostitution did not exist.

Prostitution strongly affect communities. Some argue that prostitution affects the community by
contributing to the objectification of women. Men who participate in buying a prostitute view
women as mere sex objects and not human beings. This terrible attitude towards women
accounts for the high incidence of violence and murder perpetrated against prostitutes.
Society has basically given up on eliminating prostitution. Therefore, in most major cities around
the world, there are neighborhoods where prostitution is concentrated. Society drives prostitution
into one part of town where prostitution can go “unseen” during the hours of the night. 

The entire life of the average prostitute can be summed up in two words: alienation and
exploitation. Many prostitutes have felt dis-empowered and alienated from society and their
parents all their lives. Many prostitutes are the project of abusive homes which they run away
from and are not legally qualified to work in any legitimate industry.

The law recognizes the human rights of every individual because justice is blind to the
differences of people. The law protects prostitutes from violent crimes committed against them.
However, the law fails to prevent prostitutes from engaging in the risky behavior in the first
place. The law can only punish someone after the fact.

The street poses many dangers to a prostitute as prostitutes are also subject to violence from their
clients who feel empowered by the fact that prostitutes are considered part of the lower echelons
of society.

This history of abuse increases the likelihood of substance abuse and this fortifies a person’s role
in society as a prostitute. Pimps take advantage of the prostitute’s situation and exploit them for
most of their money. There is no such thing as union organizing for prostitutes as there would be
serious violence in retribution for their “insubordinate” behavior.

b)

Here are some possible measures that the government of Uganda can do to bring in new steps to
revolutionize the society removing the occurrence of such evil practices:

Strict rules and amendments of law. The government should work towards bringing in strict
enforcements of law to see that no one should dare enter into such activities. High grades of
punishment should be enforced and people practicing them in spite of repeated warnings should
be tried under law.

It should strictly be considered a crime. Men who seek out such services from women should
be tried under law and be jailed for harassment against women. Women who willingly
participate in such activities should be sentenced to imprisonment. Creating awareness among
the public: Social awareness is an important and vital aspect of all our lives.
People can raise their voices through the support of social media campaigns channels. The
public can be educated about the bad reflection of such activities on children, the future
generations and the society as a whole. These create an impact on the youth of today and
discourage them against indulging in such acts.

Creating employment opportunities. Creating mass employment opportunities for youth and
the unemployed will help people drift away from such immoral acts. Most people indulge in
prostitution due to want of money and when plenty of channels are created by which people can
earn money for themselves through hard work and through the right means; chances are people
may change their perspectives.

Providing special education schemes. Along with employment opportunities, these people can
be provided parallel education during evenings, when they find time for themselves. This in
particular, will help them to raise good children and make them send their children to schools
and not adopt the very route that they found for themselves.

Allocating funds that provide monetary support to affected families. Banks that are owned
by the government can allocate special funds to such people on a temporary basis to help women
in this field to fund their children's education.

Establishing rehabilitation centers. A woman who is entirely into the act of prostitution finds it
difficult to come back to terms with normal living. She would fear the societal norms and
pressures against her and her family. The fear of being thrown out from the society and not being
accepted at large makes the situation worse.

Proper guidance and counseling sessions. The government should also provide a few hours of
counseling sessions by experts in the field about the ill effects of being in prostitution, what
effects it would have on themselves, health vulnerabilities, adverse effects on the family and bad
reputation in the society etc.
References

Brewer, D. D., Potterat, J. J., Garrett, S. B., Muth, S. Q., John M. Roberts, J., Kasprzyk, D., et al.
(2000). Prostitution and the sex discrepancy in reported number of sexual partners. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, 97, 12385–12388.

https://www.jaredjustice.com/blog/negative-effects-of-prostitution-on-society/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
329504666_CAUSES_AND_DECISION_OF_WOMEN'S_INVOLVEMENT_INTO_PROSTIT
UTION_AND_ITS_CONSEQUENCES_IN_PUNJAB_PAKISTAN