Anne (not her real name) who is in her late 50's and has been a commercial sex work for the last 20 years in Majengo, which is regarded as the home of low-end commercial sex workers. Anne has four kids all adults and a husband. She says that she has always wanted to quit the profession but circumstances have dragged her back into it.
Her work can start from as early as 5am in the morning continue as late into the night. For a customer to know she is free, she will sit outside her room on a stool and when she gets a client she will place the empty stool outside her room to alert potential clients that she is engaged.
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Anne has no specific customers and says even street boys come to her to be serviced. She does not discriminate. The majority of her customers are traders and matatu drivers as well as conductors and revelers at busaa and changaa dens located in the slum.
According to Anne and several other commercial sex workers, the price for sex in Majengo is uniform with the cheapest being KSh 50 and highest at KSh 1000. Charges for different sex acts and duration with commercial sex workers in Majengo are as follows:
Quickie without the sex worker removing all her clothes cost KSh 50 to 100, anal sex is charged at KSh 500. A blowjob is charged KSh 250 the same price with doggy style. With 'shot bila haraka' another term to mean uninterrupted sex for one round or shot costs KSh 200. If a customer wants to spend all night with the sex worker in her room he must part with KSh 1000.
Sex without a condom is charged from KSh 500 to a KSh 1000 but Anne says she always insists her customers use protection due to the fear of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. The challenges Anne and her fellow sex workers face are; harassment from county askaris and the violent customers who at times turn violent and refuse to pay for the services