Sex work exists in every country, but it is rarely legal. In Uganda, we meet women who rely on sex work to support their families, and government officials who believe it is immoral.
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00:00A busy night in Kampala's red district of Waise.
00:07Young men and women trade in the shadows of the city.
00:10For some, it's a source of pleasure.
00:13For Jennifer, whose real name is withheld, it is a means of survival.
00:19From this income, we pay school fees for our children, we pay rent, support our livelihood and other people.
00:26Our job should be decriminalised and respected like any other job.
00:31But sex work is no ordinary job in Uganda.
00:35It has been punishable by law since colonial times.
00:40Other than being illegal, it is immoral. It is completely unacceptable to Ugandan societies.
00:48But a Ugandan lawmaker is challenging this tense.
00:52Foxodo is advocating for protection, not persecution, of sex workers like Jennifer.
00:59If you criminalise sex work, you will only drive sex workers underground.
01:06You will drive them to very unsafe spaces where they are molested, where they are exploited, where they are not paid, where they are tortured.
01:17And that's precisely where we are now.
01:20Jennifer says she was raped by a man posing as a client at night.
01:25She reported the case to the police.
01:28But fearing that pursuing justice could expose her identity as a sex worker to her family and the public,
01:36she took a tough decision to withdraw the case.
01:40I was in a very bad state, empty and sick.
01:44I wasn't ready to pursue the case to conclusion,
01:47especially with a little child to take care of as a single parent.
01:51Activists say that cases like Jennifer's are all too common.
01:56They hope that decriminalising sex work will help victims seek justice and support.
02:02Because when we decriminalise, then it creates an enabling environment for us to protect the minors or the young girls who are engaging in transactional sex.
02:13Two, it also creates an environment where sex workers are empowered enough to access health services without fear, without feeling stigma, without feeling discriminated.
02:23But actually they are willing to even report cases of violence where they have been violated.
02:29We cannot legalise prostitution. That is out of the question.
02:33So those who are trying to say we should, should actually forget about it.
02:38Because in Uganda, that cannot happen.
02:41We cannot accept legalisation of prostitution as a form of employment. It's unacceptable.
02:48Despite being a crime, sex work continues in the shadows.
02:53With the laws rarely enforced, Jennifer says that she has no choice but to risk venturing in what society has already judged as immoral.