Max Hamata and Thokozani Mtshali
The flesh trade has found a niche on campuses across South Africa, but not because students are impoverished and battling to pay fees. Peer pressure to wear the latest brand of clothing and carry the smallest cellphone has prompted many young women into selling their bodies.
A 23-year-old third-year business student and prostitute at Peninsula Technikon (Pentech) is sophisticated, experienced and very professional. “Anyone who can afford at least R100 can be catered for. The price is negotiable, depending on your income,” says the student, who asked not to be named.
Her services are available to off-campus men as well, and working men make up the bulk of her clientele. Although she has a Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa (Tefsa) bursary covering 80% of her tuition, accommodation and a monthly allowance, her string of “boyfriends” provide an extra income.
“One of them is charged with paying my Foschini, Truworths, Edgars and cellphone bills, while the other pays for my food and accommodation fees,” she says. Two other “boyfriends” provide her with transport and money for entertainment.
There is a poorer man she claims to love genuinely. “I share what I generate from my extra relationships with him.” The boyfriend does not know about her other men. “I feel guilty about betraying him. I tell him that my brother in Port Elizabeth sends me money.”
The student has been in the sex trade for two years, since she was introduced to the idea by a friend from Durban. “She emphasised that I should use condoms from a pharmacy because the condoms distributed at the clinic are not 100% safe,” she said.
Her two best friends on campus are also involved in prostitution. Apart from saying that they use “safe sex measures”, they were not willing to share their experiences.
Sex workers at Pentech invite potential clients by placing advertisements at strategic points on campus, like the ATMs at the student centre, the Freedom Square male residence and the cafeteria. Although some of the ads are directed at students with at least “R500 in your account”, they are also directed at staff. “Customers will be treated confidentially and will receive preferential treatment,” reads one ad.
“I responded to one of these adverts on Valentine’s Day, but when I met the product [sic], I was not impressed and lost interest,” said Glenn Gaweseb, a second- year business management student.
Outgoing Student Representative Council (SRC)member Tisha Vanga says the problem should not be viewed as prostitution. “We should bear in mind that female black students come from a patriarchal society where women largely depend on men. [This] cannot be referred to as prostitution,” he stresses.
He said prostitution “stems from the contract labour system. When the husband, the sole breadwinner, is removed from the family, there is no stable income to sustain the house. As a result, the girls become the breadwinners by getting income from other sources.”
He blames prostitution on Pentech’s management, accusing it of doing nothing to redress gender inequality on campus. “There are a few accommodation and Tefsa loans available to disadvantaged women, and most women who want to advance academically are forced to get money by various means,” Vanga says.
Outgoing SRC gender officer Pula Mathobela says: “Women, especially first years, who arrive on campus without accommodation are often victims, because they are exploited sexually in exchange for accommodation.”
Mathobela says some of these students are assaulted when they try to end the relationship. “Most of these cases go unreported because the girls do not want to be ostracised.”
Pentech housing placement officer Gqeba Malinga says he is aware of prostitution on campus but can do nothing about it. He said cohabitation was against housing regulations but, because of inadequate accommodation, the problem had been overlooked.
Not all campuses have the same problem, but the situation at Pentech is certainly not unique. Gugu Ngcobo, SRC president at Unisa in Durban, says students become prostitutes because of peer pressure: “Some students live far away from home and they come from poor families who cannot afford to meet the demands of expensive life. They want to be seen as nice and good-looking, so they go to such extremes.”
Natal University’s SRC secretary general Vincent Zondi says there are no student prostitutes on his campus. He says most of the students come from rich families, but he agrees that students like dating people who have money.
Former SRC president at Technikon Northern Gauteng Vusi Gqoboza heard rumours that students at the institution’s residences are involved in prostitution. “But I have not confirmed the validity of such rumours. I don’t think students do this because they are poor, but they are addicted to fancy things and trends,” he says.
“We used to have government ministers driving state cars from Mpumalanga to see their girlfriends here. These people are not that poor, they just like to have more money.”