The Bauchi state government has concluded plans to conduct a headcount of commercial sex workers in the state with a view to having accurate data on them.
Permanent Commissioner in charge of Hisbah and Sharia implementation, Aminu Balarabe-Isah disclosed this on Monday during a sensitization workshop organized for commercial sex workers in the state.
Isah said the information generated from the exercise would help the commission in taking measures aimed at discouraging them from continuing with their ‘dangerous’ trade.
The commissioner noted that the state government’s plan is to organise empowerment programmes for the sex workers and then provide them with capital to start small scale businesses.
According to him, investigations conducted by his agency indicated that most of the sex workers took to prostitution as a result of illiteracy, poverty or maltreatment meted on them by their step-mothers.
Isah added that minor family squabbles also contributed to their decision to take to prostitution, assuring that government would make efforts to reunite them with their parents.
Hafsatu Azare, who spoke on behalf of others said they are all willing to quit the trade on the condition that the Federal government empowers them economically.
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