A Member of Parliament in Malawi, Frank Mwenifumbo, has urged the government to legalise sex work and ensure there are different support systems around it. The MP claimed a lot of people in the country rely on the sex trade. “We see young ladies and young men standing along our streets for this purpose. Why can we not legalise it? We are in denial and yet it is there in the open that we have people depending on commercial sex” he said.
The MP added that, with legalisation, Malawi would have a designated area for registered sex workers who, in turn, would undergo periodic health tests as one way of controlling new HIV infection. He said the country should legalise sex work “so that for them to be given a certificate to be a sex worker they must agree to compulsory testing”. Mwenifumbo made the remarks while contributing to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Management) Bill however, his proposal was not included in the Bill that was passed into law.
Read more of the story here: Malawi