Sexualising the City of Accra: The Lived Experiences of ‘Night Walkers’

Abstract

Since time immemorial, man has felt the need to pay for services of a sexual nature, and prostitutes have met the desire of men to satisfy their sexual desires. The subculture of prostitutes is typically characterised by secrecy, stigma and intense occupational involvement and difficulties in leaving the profession. All the major religions in Ghana condemn the practice of commercial sex trade; however, the phenomenon still persists. Narrative inquiry strategy was employed for the study. Individual in-depth interviews were completed with four (4) female commercial sex workers (CSW). Given the complex nature of prostitution, the semi-structured arrangement helped in obtaining the best and most useful information for the study’s objectives. The major instrument used in collecting data was the interview. The study identified various forms of prostitution, it found that girls/women go into prostitution for a wide-range of reasons which could be classified as pull and push factors. The night walkers indicated that they practice safe sex by insisting on the use of condom and the participants also seek treatment immediately they realise they have a health condition and the symptoms persist. It is therefore recommended to focus on addressing the socio-economic causes of prostitution.