Sex for fish
Sex for fish (sometimes referred to as "fish for sex") is a phenomenon in which female fish traders engage in transactional sexual relationships with fishermen to secure their supply of fish, often out of coercion. Sex for fish as a phenomenon is common in many developing countries; however, the bulk cases have been observed in Sub-Saharan Africa's inland fisheries. The most vulnerable victims are economically disadvantaged women, e.g., single or divorced women and widows residing in or along the shores of inland fisheries.
Several social-economic factors, including poverty, cultural practices, and competition among women who are involved in the fish trade, are often listed as variables fueling the sex for fish practice. There is no conclusive research that shows what promotes sex for fish practice. However, fishermen seem to be taking advantage of stiff competition between the women who trade in fish to demand sexual favors in exchange for the fish. The men or the trader who receives sexual favors would grant these women preferential sales and sales at reduced prices.
On the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, women have been observed giving out empty polythene bags to the fishermen before they go out fishing at night or early morning, and when the fishermen return, some of the best catch would be set aside for them, stashed in these bags.
Poverty
In Kenya, where sex for fish has been well documented, poverty among the fishing communities has been constantly listed as factors contributing to the practice of sex for fish. Sex for fish practice in Kenya is popularly called the Jaboya system. Jaboya in the Luo tribe dialect means customer; due to the transactional involvement of fishermen with women fish traders, the locals coined the term 'Jaboya system' to refer to sex for fish phenomenon. Fishmongers in the lake-side city of Kisumu have sex with fishermen to get stock to sell to make a living. In Kenya's third largest city of Kisumu, Dunga Beach, along the shores of Lake Victoria, young girls have become the new attraction for fishermen, who use their fish catch to bribe and lure them into sex for fish practice fees. The cycle of poverty and vulnerability forces older women to introduce their young daughters or orphaned girls to the sex for fish trade. In return, the young girl has sexual relations with the fisherman that offers the best deal. In many cases, young girls have sex with multiple partners and are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases and potentially HIV infections.\
Exploitation of gay men
In September 2012, a Kenyan TV station reported incidents where gay men exchanged sex for fish. This occurs due to poor catch or for money. Impoverished gay men have become the latest group to be involved in sex for fish within the fishing communities.
HIV/AIDS prevalence
Some of the earliest recorded cases of HIV/AIDS in Africa were in fishing communities around Lake Victoria in 1982. Several studies have shown a link between sex for fish phenomenon and higher HIV prevalence.
In Kenya, it is assumed that sex for fish contributes to the high HIV/AIDS prevalence along the lake region, where it is double the national average. Kenya Modes of Transmission Study 2008 had put prevalence in the fishing communities at between 25 percent and 30 percent in Nyanza province in Kenya. The prevalence level of HIV/AIDS infections in Nyanza province is 15.3 percent, which is nearly double the national average. HIV transmission is primarily increased because these women have no control over the use of condoms as a preventive measure against the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
In Uganda, studies conducted around Lake George and Lake Edward by the Uganda Fisheries and Fish Conservation Association (UFFCA) found that the HIV/AIDS prevalence average rate was 22.4 percent, against the national prevalence of 7.3 percent. Many leaders and researchers consider sex for fish as one factor that has led to higher than average HIV/AIDS prevalence amongst these fishing communities.
In Mangochi, Malawi, sex is a vibrant part of fishing, and research has shown a strong link between HIV prevalence and the sex for fish trade. Transactional sex is common in Malawian fishing communities, with women identified as vulnerable in negotiations due to existing gendered power structures. Men carry out the process of catching fish. Therefore, men control factors of production, while women only control the processing, drying, and selling of the fish. Due to men's control of production factors, the power dynamics in these exchanges favor men and make it more difficult for women to negotiate safe sex. The Malawian NGO Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO), which works to combat the spread of HIV infection in Malawi, observed that despite increased awareness of HIV/AIDS in Malawi, fishermen on Lake Chilwa are queuing for sex. This was disclosed by fishermen who YONECO trained as peer educators during the organization's monitoring visit to Mposa in the Machinga district. The reports indicate that a total of 25 fishermen would line up to have sex with one woman in exchange for 15 dozen fish if no condom is used during sexual intercourse or three dozen fish if a condom is used.
In the Kafue Flats region of Zambia, sex for fish exchange increased the spread of HIV/AIDS rapidly between 2002 and 2005.
Interventions
U.S. Peace Corps
In 2010, two Peace Corps volunteers, Dominik Mucklow and Michael Geilhufe, who lived near Lake Victoria, decided to do something to help the women who were trapped in sex for fish practice. With support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding, they assisted a group of women fish traders to acquire their own fishing boats. The women then employed men to go fishing using these boats. This simple advancement freed women from sexual exploitation to secure their fish supply. No Sex for Fish aimed to change the work dynamic between the women and the men who make their living from the fishing industry by giving women ownership of the means of production, boats. The women own the boats; as the women work, they repay the cost of building the boat, then the boat repayment money is pooled to construct more boats, increasing the number of women involved. The Victoria Institute for Research on Environment and Development (Vired) managed the pilot project.
Merlin
An organization that brings together local leaders and community members, Merlin has created several theatre groups in Western Kenya that perform skits and plays that deal with the issues that the sex for fish (Jaboya System) practice brings. The shows occur once per month and coincide with the fishermen's return to the beach. The shows typically draw large crowds on the beach and end with a discussion and condom distribution to the fishermen. Local people believe that the shows are getting the local community to change their thinking about the Jaboya system and, ultimately, their behavior as well.
Deadly Catch (film)
Deadly Catch is a film produced by IRIN that centers around the fishing community outside of Bondo, Kenya. It shows how the HIV virus has affected different people in various ways, focusing on those directly involved with the Jaboya system and those who have lost family members.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Sex_for_fish ]
Source
"Sex for Fish." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Jul. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_for_fish. Accessed 25 Jul. 2023.
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