Senate has called for stronger protections for sex workers in the country’s HIV/AIDS response, warning that stigma, discrimination and policy contradictions could undermine decades of progress in fighting the epidemic.
Debating a report by the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS on access to health services by sex workers, senators across the political divide stressed that leaving sex workers behind would jeopardise the country’s target of achieving an AIDS-free generation by 2030.
Senator Kudakwashe Matibiri said sex workers face “institutionalised stigma”, including being issued colour-coded health booklets that expose them to discrimination at clinics.
He argued that while Zimbabwe has reduced HIV prevalence from 26.5% in 1997 to 11% in 2022 and exceeded the UN’s 95-95-95 treatment targets, these gains were threatened by legal and policy gaps.
“We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to a key group we have identified as central in this fight. The girls who line the streets do so because there is a customer somewhere — men must take responsibility too,” Matibiri said.
Senator Chinyanga accused some police officers of extorting or harassing sex workers, sometimes demanding sex favours, calling such actions “morally weak and constitutionally unlawful.”
Chinyanga warned that donor dependence in HIV programming left vulnerable groups exposed when funding waned, urging government to meet its Abuja Declaration commitment of allocating 15% of the national budget to health.
Senator Tambudzani Mohadi, a member of the HIV/AIDS Committee, stressed that “inclusion benefits everyone,” noting that access to dignified care for sex workers reduces community-wide transmission.
She urged ministries to expand outreach, vocational training and microfinance opportunities for sex workers who want to transition into other livelihoods.
Senator Irene Zindi echoed calls for fairness, saying men fuel prostitution but women alone are punished.
“It takes two to tango. Why are women being arrested while men who pay for these services are ignored? This is oppression,” she said.
The debate highlighted sharp contradictions in Zimbabwe’s approach: while prostitution remains criminalised under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, sex workers are recognised as a key group in the HIV response.
Senators urged Parliament to align laws with the Constitution, which guarantees the right to health, dignity and equality, and to ensure that no community is left behind in the HIV fight.
