Increasing numbers of Zambian girls are being exported to Russia, Israel and South Africa to work as prostitutes, officials at several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) announced today. During a recent meeting by representatives of the International Labor Organization, Children in Need and several other organizations, members discussed the urgency of stopping the trade. The trafficking of girls and women is thought to be responsible for increased cases of the AIDS virus and the widespread murders of young women who usually found outside brothels or night-clubs.
According to Merab Kiremire, leader of Diseases and Exploitation (MAPODE), many of the young South African women, who are tricked into brothels and promised money, can earn traders as much as $400 a day, while only taking home about $20 to support themselves, and their families.
ILO Officer Adel Gromou says the illegal trading of young girls will continue until the Zambian government institutes laws against it. Currently in Zambia, prostitution only becomes an offense if someone turns it into an organized business, such as a brothel.
