My name is Mary Mwangi, and I am an experienced and proud sex worker operating in the capital city of Nairobi. I was introduced to sex work by a friend at a very tender age. Naïve and without much knowledge about protection, I got pregnant. My mother, a single mom with no stable income, could […]
I could have missed the story but thanks to an IT savvy young man Trevor who works at HOYMAS, a male sex workers’ organization in Kenya, documentation guy. Trevor forwarded a curious story from ‘The Star” newspaper titled “Man lynched for stabbing sex worker to death after refusing to pay”. According to the article, the […]
Events that happened to her more than a decade ago are still very fresh in her mind. She has always been embarrassed to come out and open up about the despicable ordeal. The more she kept quiet the more the pain tore her heart into pieces. Thanks to a Basic Feminist Leadership and Gender Based […]
Bar Hostess Empowerment & Support Programme (BHESP) has trained 35 female sex workers as peer educators to spread information to their contemporaries on advocating for safe sex. The 5-day training certified by National AIDS and STI’s Control Programme (NASCOP) was held at BHESP’s Kariobangi Wellness Centre and peer educators were trained on HIV prevention, behavior […]
Kenyan sex workers continue to suffer human rights violations despite a robust constitutional framework that includes a comprehensive Bill of Rights guaranteeing rights for all, a report has said. The report titled “Speaking out! Personal testimonies of rights violations experienced by sex workers in Kenya” said sex workers living with HIV experienced numerous human rights […]
PEPFAR and DREAMS Partners Announce BHESP Among Winners of the $85 Million DREAMS Innovation Challenge The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); Janssen Pharmaceutica NV (Janssen), one of the Janssen pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson; and ViiV Healthcare announced a combined $85 million investment to support 56 DREAMS Innovation Challenge winners* in […]
Female Sex workers continue to face disproportionate levels of violence and discrimination in a number of ways, including physical or sexual assault, or stigma attached to their identity based on their nature of work. As a result of this many female sex workers are excluded from health systems consequently failing to access basic health needs […]
Meet Rose Syotini, a lovely 30 year old lady, fair skinned with beautiful alluring brown eyes. Her sweet voice, a voice that would make someone stop to confirm its owner is by no fault her enchant! Her physique coupled with her smile is what many would consider hypnotic! Besides her beauty, Rose doubles up as […]
In the late 1990s, a group of women working in Nairobi’s bars came together to protest. They were disillusioned by the “corruption, tribalism, and poor leadership” in Kenya, that “translated to extreme poverty, violence, and desperation” and prompted many women to work and sell sex in bars. When the HIV pandemic hit, “homes were wiped […]
Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Programme (BHESP) is a sex worker-led organisation that includes sex workers, women who have sex with women (WSW), women who use drugs and bar hostesses in Kenya. Founded in 1998, the organisation serves as a common voice in efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination, while engaging various stakeholders in advocacy […]