DURBAN - Male motorists travelling in the Glenwood area are advised to keep their car doors locked, especially when driving alone.
This is due to a new trend among prostitutes in the area who rush up to the windows and even get into cars if the doors are unlocked.
A Glenwood community activist, who declined to be named, said they had dealt with cases where women would get into the passenger seat and start screaming that their “services” had been requested and they had not been paid by the driver.
“We had an incident where a father had dropped his son off at school and was talking on his cellphone. He had not locked the car doors and this woman opened the door and got inside.
“By the time the neighbourhood watch (NHW) team had arrived, the woman was holding up a condom claiming that they were about to get physical and the driver refused to pay her,” the activist said.
“He had got out of the car and was standing with his hands up, refuting her claims.
“Fortunately, a car was parked behind the father at a traffic light and that driver validated the man’s story,” the activist said.
In another incident, a man was parked at the traffic light when he noticed a woman running up to his car.
He quickly checked that there were no cars approaching and sped off.
She added that the NHW team regularly conducted patrols along Helen Joseph (Davenport), Clark and Esther Roberts (Frere) roads, as well as the smaller avenues adjoining the roads to chase prostitutes and their clients from the area.
“Local business owners complain to us when we have meetings that they are fed up with clearing away used condoms from the fronts of their buildings. Their clients are also being harassed by these women,” she said.
Speaking to the Daily News, two business owners said prostitution was a major problem in the Glenwood area and despite them constantly chasing women away, they returned a few hours later.
“Having them standing nearby is really bad for business. The more we chase them, the more they just come back,” said the owner of a pub along Helen Joseph Road.
According to the activist, they had noticed there were more prostitutes in the area.
“We have even noticed that there are some women who continue with their ‘work’ while pregnant.
“When we ask them why, they say it is because they are more appealing to some of their clients and get paid a little more.
“This is very sad,” the woman said.
She said many of these women were then forced to abandon their babies.
“This can also contribute to the high number of horrific findings of babies left to die in packets,” she said.
It is believed that prostitution in Glenwood flourished around the time of the 2010 World Cup.
“At the time, Glenwood appeared to be advertised as the ‘red-light district’.
“Since then, we have seen more and more women coming into the area with flats being rented out and used as places for these women to stay in.
“You find that one person will rent a flat and the next thing, there are 10 people staying in the place.”