Older sex workers going hungry

BEN CAMPBELL/Manukau Courier

CONCERNED: Mamatere Strickland is worried about the growing number of underage prostitutes working in south Auckland.

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Underage prostitutes are forcing experienced sex workers to go home hungry.

The young girls are taking business away from women who have been working the streets for years, says the Papatoetoe agency that helps prostitutes over 18 who want to leave the sex industry.

Te Aronga Hou Inaianei co-founder Mamatere Strickland says she has had to ask the Salvation Army to get food parcels for mothers who haven’t "had any luck" because of the number of young girls working.

"It’s a supply and demand issue. The younger the supply, the more competition for the older girls," the former sex worker says.

"I guess part of that mentality is the younger they are, the less likely they are to have infections.

"Older women are going home with nothing. It’s been a sad Christmas for many of them – the competition is just getting too much."

A sting by Counties Manukau police in the past month resulted in 25 men being arrested for buying sex from underage prostitutes.

Fifteen street workers, some as young as 13, were taken off the streets during Operation Capio.

Mamatere says the number of underage prostitutes is rising because of the Prostitution Reform Act. "The act has taken police resources off the street and has therefore sent the message to pimps and gangs that there are opportunities to get away with things," she says.

Underage prostitutes don’t dress up in high-heels, fishnet stockings and miniskirts, she says. The girls wear their normal clothing but punters know they are working because they frequent red-light areas after midnight.

She and her team give out condoms and information packs with guidelines on how to keep safe while working on the street.

Prostitutes are also helped with housing and budgeting advice and are encouraged to seek other employment or take part in educational training courses.

Those who want help for their addictions are referred to drug and alcohol services.

Poverty has a role to play in underage prostitution, Mamatere says.

"People are quick to blame the families, but hang on a minute, we’ve got other influences out there impacting on the children.

"P and other drugs also turn family against family and a lot of loving families out there would be broken-hearted to see that their child has gone down this road to destruction."

But the problem won’t be solved by police removing underage prostitutes from the street.

"It’s not about moving them on. It’s about looking at the social, holistic approach to what’s happening and trying to make change.

"Getting the police to arrest them doesn’t solve the problem, they’ll just come back the next night.

"I don’t know why the government didn’t listen when we tried to tell them what would happen.

"Now we’ve got an epidemic on our hands."

She hopes Operation Capio will let people know south Auckland is not a paedophile haven for men picking up "our" children.

- © Fairfax NZ News