Ugandan domestic workers turning to prostitution

Uganda: 'Maids Linked to Prostitution' Source: New Vision (Kampala) Charles Ariko Kampala The Human Rights Status Report 2005 by the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) said the girls resort to prostitution after being frustrated by their would-be employers who fail to pay them or unfairly dismiss them. Interviews carried out in the suburbs of Kabalagala and Kansanga where prostitution thrives, most prostitutes confessed having come to Kampala as domestic workers. Those interviewed were aged between 17 and 20 years. The report said the dilemma posed by domestic workers was hard to solve because the victims live in private homes and unless they complained, it was hard to know the conditions under which they work. The report attributes violations of labour rights to weak and obsolete laws. It also blamed the government for failing to enact a legislation that sets the minimum wage for the workers. [SS], [FL] human trafficking, sexual slavery, forced labor, prostitution, fleshploitation