Sex workers in Mombasa County have relocated to the upcountry citing low business in the city and high cost of living.
Nkoko Injuu Africa, a community-based organisation that champions the rights of sex workers across the coastal region, said that the high cost of living and skyrocketing food prices have led to a huge number of its members relocating to upcountry where they would easily exchange sex for food.
"Desperate measures call for desperate choices. Life has become so hard for our members to survive within Mombasa and as such, a big number has left to settle in upcountry areas where food is readily available.
"They can easily trade in their business with what is readily available from the farms. This way, they are guaranteed of feeding their families," Nkoko Executive Director Maryline Laini said.
She added: "Food is important for our survival. Food gives us the energy to be able to attend to our customers for them to get satisfied."
Customers not willing to spend on sex workers
Laini further stated that with the biting times, the number of clients who were ready to spend on sex workers had reduced significantly.
"We are not earning as much as we used to two years ago. With the economy becoming bad despite lowering the prices of our services, the number of clients has reduced and this has rendered many of us jobless," Laini said.
Mombasa has over 10,000 registered sex workers, with 4000 registered under the umbrella body of Nkoko Injuu Africa.
