Commercial 'Sex Work' and substance abuse among adolescent street children of Harare Central Business District

Abstract

This paper argues that, there is a close relationhip between substance abuse and 'commercial sex work' among the street children of Harare Central Business District. Within the context of commercial sex work and abusing of substances, these children demonstrate human agency as noted by Giddens (1994). Human agency is illustrated when these children view the abuse of substances as a coping mechanism in a context of the abusive and exploitative nature of commercial sex work. Some of the street children narrated that through substance abusing behaviours they were able to effectively handle group sex sessions, dancing and stripping in night clubs. In addition, substance abuse enabled some of the street girls to develop confidence and resilience in approaching and demanding payment from some of their 'clients'. However, from a child rights perspective one argues that, despite the Government of Zimbabwe's commitment to child rights by ratifying and domesticating provisions of United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Children (1989), African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children (1999), there are still huge child rights violations taking place. These child rights violations are seen when children including street children engage in substance abuse and commerical sex work. This paper is part of the author's doctoral degree study that adopted a qualitative research methodology and street ethnographic approach.