After resorting to prostitution for 14 years to feed her nyaope addiction, Bianca Clarke has decided to stay away from men and do odd jobs to support her habit.
Clarke said unemployment, poverty and lack of a family support structure led her to start taking drugs in 2005. She also blamed peer pressure for her situation.
The Sunday Independent caught up with the 29-year-old while she was cleaning minibus taxis in Eldorado Park shopping centre in her green vest and jeans.
“This is unlike having to sell your body. At least I am able to make my own money rather than depending on boys to share a smoke in exchange for sex.
“They (nyaope addicts) used me when I started because I was not working nor was I able to make money. So they would also take advantage of me.
“At that time I felt lonely and bored. There was no work. Now it’s even worse because I have to sell my clothes when I don’t make enough money to get the fix (nyaope).
“My parents know I am smoking and this doesn’t sit well with them. They were also upset when I left school in Grade 8. At that time my friends and everyone in our area was smoking nyaope and I also wanted to experience it.”
Clarke is not the only nyaope addict who has had rely on prostitution for a fix. Many other young women find themselves outnumbered by their male counterparts whenever they are in groups around street corners or in drug dens. This also poses safety and security risks for the women because they are regarded as outlaws by family and society, while the police believe they don’t deserve protection.
Waydene Pillay, who is addicted to crystal meth and Mandrax, saidwomen on drugs also face risks of being raped or killed by their fellow addicts. She said her friend was killed by a group of men when she refused to have sex with them after they had shared a fix with her.
“I only smoke crystal meth (methamphetamine) and Mandrax. But I want to quit because it is becoming more dangerous, especially for my kids.
“In drugs you are forced to sleep with different men when you have no money to buy for yourself.
“This is how my best friend died. She was stabbed when she refused to have sex with one of the guys. I am afraid this might also happen to me because I got stabbed two times and I will die for nothing,” said the 29-year-old.
SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drugs Dependence (Sanca) social worker Erick Masinga believes these women were forced to sleep with male groups for safety.
“They need to have a partner because most are living on the streets and it’s not safe. They live in the hijacked buildings and are also forced to sleep with drug dealers to feed their habits.”
Nontsikelelo Mbotshelwa had a job at Chicken Licken, but she lost it because she was always late for work. Taking long smoke breaks during working hours because of her addiction cost her the job.
The 26-year-old from Orlando East in Soweto broke into tears when telling her story.
“After losing my job I was stealing. I didn’t sleep. I would do house break-ins. Even now my friends know I have a boyfriend, but I hustle for myself just as they hustle. I am even selling dagga to buy nyaope. This is not a good life and I want to quit it, but it’s hard to get out. Nyaope is a difficult addiction,” she said.
Department of Social Development spokesperson Jaconia Kobue said addicted women face dangers such as sexual assault, rape and abuse when are under the influence of drugs.
“Many become involved in the sex industry to finance their drug addiction and often trade their bodies for drugs. Human and drug trafficking are also linked through threats of violence and promises of freedom.
“In some cases, a person may begin to prostitute herself as a way to finance a drug habit. In other cases, a third person may be forcing a person to work on the street or in a brothel to make money.”
Nicolet Cresswell, 43, said she had found a younger man to help her support her addiction to methamphetamine.
“You will even sell your body when you are desperate and I know about this. Most of the girls are living in the streets because they were stealing from their parents and they had to sell their bodies for places to sleep. I found myself a man who is also smoking and he is also supporting me,” said Cresswell.
Gender activist Mbuyiselo Botha said the plight of women nyaope addicts was well known but nobody was willing to protect them from sexual violence because they were regarded as outcasts.
“There is no way they will say no to sex from these men and if they refuse there will be violence. They wouldn’t know what their rights are because they would be out of their the mind with no clear intellectual capacity. That exposes them to extra violation of their dignity and their rights.
“They are on their own. They can’t run back to family or police; in fact family would reject them and they would say ‘you are useless and good for nothing’. They won’t be saved and protected. Social Development would have to go out of their way to assist, but psychosocial services in this country don’t exist.
“It’s like there are other important societal issues they will see to finish. South Africans are not politically sophisticated to demand these type of services from government and we are not at that level where we would ask these questions such as ‘why should we vote for you if you are not going to intervene in this scourge of nyaope’, for instance.”