In the case of assaults on sex workers, the government must take a second look at their practice

Prostitution is said to be illegal in Ghana. However, the trade has been practiced in the country for as long as we can remember.

The practice is so widespread in the country lately that every major town in Ghana has a known spot where traders practice the trade either in the cover of darkness or under daylight. The saddest part

Read full articleof it is that minors have either been recruited or are being forced to join due to the hardships they encounter at home.

There is no law guiding the rate at which these illegal traders can charge, and the prices vary depending on the place where the trade is practiced.

But what happens if someone practicing an illegal business is assaulted or shot by patrons of his or her illegal trade? Can such a person seek protection and his rights?

According to Angelonline, a Prestea Magistrate Court remanded 28-year-old Hakeem Mumuni into police custody to reappear on April 28, 2022, for allegedly shooting a commercial sex worker named Promise.

The story continues that the young man demanded the services of one commercial service worker named Aisha. The sex worker asked the young man to pay GH 30.00, but Hakeem decided to pay GH 10.00.

When the sex worker said no, Hakeem pulled a pistol and threatened to shoot Aisha, but later absconded. Then, Hakeem Mumuni again went to the same place and this time came across a Nigerian named Promise.

During their chit-chat, Hakeem pulled his short gun and shot Promise in the thigh. Hakeem later ran away but was apprehended and arraigned before the court.
This story is one of the few we hear about the assaults and other in-human encounters sex workers go through in the practice of their work.

Why does this practice keep re-occurring? Could it be that the miscreants are doing these things because they know these young women are practicing an illegal business?

What is the government doing to either protect these vulnerable women or stop their practice altogether since the practice is illegal?

The lives of these women matter and the government must take action as the practice widens and begins to take on an uncontrollable level.