But the law isn’t clear cut

Merita Hutch





Warrants of arrests have been issued by the District Court in Apia for seven women accused of prostitution.
Only one of these women had 30 charges of prostitution against her dismissed by the court. The other women who are now to be hauled before the courts failed to appear.
This is the first major case of this type in Samoa. Many believe the women’s failure to appear has much to do with shame and the media coverage surrounding the case.
Reports on the rising number of unemployed young women taking on this type of work has had a few eyebrows raised in Samoa, like many other islands in the region priding themselves as God-abiding countries.
There is no denying that prostitution exists in the islands and it’s becoming more and more noticeable. In Samoa, the law on prostitution is now being reviewed.
The counsel representing the women for free in this trial says the law on prostitution isn’t clear-cut.
“Unless we’re arguing on moral grounds, then perhaps we can say it’s not right. But under the Crimes Ordinance of 1961, I don’t see anything that would result in any charges coming to fruition,” says defence  Counsel Iuni Sapolu.
Angie, one of the women whose photos were all over the papers and television, walked away after all the 30 charges laid against her were dismissed. She’s now contemplating taking the media to court.
While the rest of the women will now have to be arrested for their next appearance, we spoke to several women who admitted to providing this paid service.
Mona, as we’ve decided to call her, agreed to be interviewed on the condition she stays anonymous. Fear of her family being ousted from her village has resulted in the anonymity.
“I started doing this when I was old,” she says.
She’s been selling her body for 12 years and including the seven years she was married, then widowed.
“I didn’t finish school and without qualifications I had to find something to get money for my family,” she says.
“My older sister was doing it so I followed her.”
She confirms that most of the young women now would take money for their time with men who pick them up from certain parts of the town of Apia.
“But often they get less than $50 a night. Sometimes they just take packets of cigarettes and drinks, that’s all they get, so I can’t mingle with them because the clients they seek would also treat me the same. I want more than $50 a night,” she says.
Mona is a mother of three ranging from a 14-year old who’s finishing primary school, another child aged 6, and a two-year-old son.
“I have to get money to feed them and when my husband died I have to care for them myself, nobody else is going to provide for them”.
“I know it’s illegal but there are men who want it and they’re willing to pay for sex,” she says.
Mona’s clientele are European men living in Samoa. She does not go out with locals.

Illegal
“They don’t have the money I want for payment—often they use women and then threaten them or give them $20 or $40—the palagis give much more especially and they will return for your service,” she says.
On average Mona makes $300-$500 a week and she works only from Thursday to Saturday.
“Unless I get a call from a client who wants my company during the week, then I’ll get extra. Otherwise, my average income would be the amount I mentioned. Sometimes I get lucky and they give me more than a hundred ($100) per session”.
Most of her friends, Mona says, would make an average of $200 a week due to the fact that they would only go with the local men or Chinese.
“The Chinese are just as bad as the Samoans, they often try to fool you and then give you $20 for a session, they’re really cheap”.
Mona knows that prostitution is illegal in Samoa and she says often her relatives tell others about her work but she has continued to deny it saying that she was only hanging out at these hot spots because she was with the faafafines and other women.
“There’s a growing number of Indian men now setting up businesses in Samoa and these are some of the faces you can now see on the streets picking up the young women. But they too aren’t paying the amount that the palagis are giving these women,” Mona says.
President of the Samoa Umbrella for Non-governmental organisations (SUNGO) Roina Vavatau says it was clear from the reports and the interviews made on these women that the driving force behind prostitution in Samoa is poverty.
“I know nobody wants any of their loved ones to get involved in this type of work, but if there wasn’t a demand, then there wouldn’t be a service and the question is, why are these women being persecuted when the men demanding the service aren’t,” Vavatau asks.
“We as a society have a responsibility to see if we can help these women because you can take a woman off the street temporarily but if you can’t find her a decent job so she can put food on the table she’ll end up right back on the street.
“We really should be looking at what we in different parts of the country can help provide for these women because if we feel that our family values have deteriorated resulting in the increasing number of women turning to prostitution as a solution for an income, then we must do something to improve these so called values.
“But I believe it’s poverty more than the deterioration of family values that’s now pushing these women on the streets.”

Big trouble
For the Family Health Association, its concern is centered on the increasing costs to the Samoan government to treat those with sexually transmitted diseases not mentioning HIV/AIDS.
“There is great concern on the increase of STDs in Samoa and if these women and men who sell their bodies for money are not protected, we’re in big trouble,” says Seumanutafa Manu Samuelu, who heads the awareness programmes run by the SFHA.
“Two of the women who were charged with prostitution were found to have sexually transmitted diseases and one of them must have had it for at least two years.
“Now if they’ve been with other men over these two years, imagine the number of people who are now carrying these diseases,” he adds.
“We’ve been finding also that there a lot of pregnant women with STDs when they come for pre-natal checkups and one of the major campaigns run by the association is to convince these women’s husbands to come forth for tests and treatment”.
Seumanutafa says if this careless attitude in sexual workers continues, Samoa would not be able to afford treatment for HIV/AIDS patients in the near future due to the increase in patients.
Members of the public are now invited to have their say on the prostitution issue as part of the work implemented by the recently formed Law Reform Commission in Samoa.
PPSEWA is putting forward its support in legalising prostitution as a profession to protect the workers and clientele.
SUNGO believes work should continue to ensure there are other avenues that could help women get off the streets.
Many members of the public do not share their enthusiasm quoting once again that the law should be strengthened to ban prostitution from the country.
“If there is going to be a review of the law and if it sways in favour of legalising prostitution, then protection should be endorsed and there should be clear guidelines to ensure that public safety is prioritised,” says Seumanutafa.