From despair to hope: a Chatsworth HIV-positive sex worker's journey to rehabilitation

A HIV-positive sex worker from Chatsworth shared her harrowing eight-year journey of violence, exploitation, and drug addiction after being deceived with false job promises.

Now, with help from the Anti-Drug Forum, she sees a path to rehabilitation and reuniting with her children, while experts highlight the systemic issues trapping vulnerable women in cycles of prostitution and addiction.

Despite being shot four times in Havenside after refusing to have unprotected sex and becoming hooked on drugs to numb her reality of selling her body for money, the 46-year-old mother of four said she lived in hope of turning her life around.

The woman said she was forced into prostitution after a man who promised her a job at RK Khan Hospital as a cleaner in 2018 went back on his word.

She said she found out that she was HIV positive shortly after she began working in Chatsworth, and then got hooked on drugs, which has kept her in the vicious cycle of prostitution.

The woman claimed her clients were mainly married, Indian men who demanded unprotected sex.

She said she did not reveal her status to any of her clients for the fear of losing them.

She said in the last two years, it had been difficult to make money because of the influx of young, Indian girls working in the area, mostly at night.

“In 2018, I came to Chatsworth from Umzinto, where I worked as a domestic worker. With the little money I had, I thought I would get a cleaning job at the hospital. I left my four children behind. I thought I would be able to earn enough to give my children a good education because I never went to school and know how hard it is to get a job.

“I was living in the house in Westcliff where the man had also housed other women he had promised jobs to.

“A girl there told me she earned a living through prostitution in Croftdene. At the time,I thought I could make enough money to go back home and buy some items for my family. But eight years later, I am still here,” she added. 

She said a few months after she started work as a prostitute, she found out she was HIV positive after visiting a mobile clinic.

“I cannot tell anyone I am HIV positive because if I do, they might walk away. I insist on men wearing condoms, but most of them prefer not to.

“I will never forget the day in 2019 when a man picked me up in his car. He was Indian, married andin his late 40s. He parked on the pavement near the Havenside shopping centre and he refused to use a condom. When I told him that I needed payment first, he became angry.

“He assaulted me and he had a gun, so I agreed that I would take the payment after. When I insisted he use a condom, he hit me again and threw me out of his car. He then pulled out his firearm and shot me three times in my chest and one time in my head. I spent about five weeks in RK Khan Hospital,” she said.

“After then became hooked on drugs. I just lived each day as it came. I worked to buy a meal for the day and smoked Sugars. I felt I did not have a way out,” she said.

“Today, I just make enough to buy bare essentials like soap, water, a wash cloth, food, and drugs. 

“Eight years ago, men would pay between R400 and R500. But now, because there are many girls working in the area who charge far less, men only pay between R50 and R70.

“If someone is willing to pay R150 we are lucky. Over the last two years, the area has had about 40 new girls working in Croftdene. Most of them are young Indian girls hooked on sugars. Some of them are single mothers who sell their bodies to put food on the table for their children.

“Due to the high number of girls on the street, I now make about R500 on a good day. On a bad day, I make nothing and sleep on an empty stomach,” she added.

Newfound hope

She said she recently  found new hope when the Anti Drug Forum (ADF) director, Shantal Bechoo, offered to help her with drug rehabilitation.

“I just need someone to help me. I want to stop taking drugs and when I am clean, I want to apply for a job as a domestic worker. I will visit the ADF for rehabilitation and hope to see my children once again and take care of them,” she said.

Bechoo said drugs and sex work were tragically intertwined, and the issue of brothels operating under the radar was far-reaching.

“Many operate informally under the guise of lodges or private homes, often tied to drug suppliers or intermediaries who control the women through dependency.

“These spaces act as distribution points for narcotics and hubs for exploitation, reinforcing both the supply and demand for drugs. It’s a complex ecosystem that thrives in silence  and one that demands coordinated intervention from social services, law enforcement, and the broader community,” she said.

Bechoo added that until the structural enablers of exploitation was addressed, the drug trade would continue to find fertile ground.

“The intersection of drug abuse and prostitution is one of the most painful reflections of social decay  but it is not irreversible.

“For many women and girls, substance use begins as a form of escape and a way to numb trauma, hunger, or hopelessness they face. Once in that cycle, the drugs become both the bait and the bondage. They are used to recruit, control, and exploit women often by drug dealers, pimps, or intimate partners. The dependency deepens, and many find themselves trapped in a cycle where the drug fuels the sex work, and the sex work fuels the addiction,” she said.

“We have seen this vicious trap strip away dignity, safety, and self-worth, leaving many women feeling powerless and forgotten in Chatsworth.

“Several interlinked factors push women and girls toward this devastating path, including poverty, unemployment, family breakdown, childhood trauma, and gender-based violence.

“Many of the women we see have endured abuse or neglect, often from a young age. Others turn to drugs to cope with emotional pain, only to find themselves trapped in a lifestyle they cannot escape,” added Bechoo.

“In many cases, addiction and exploitation go hand in hand; the drugs keep them dependent, and the dependency keeps them vulnerable. These women are not criminals, they are victims of systemic failure, surviving under conditions of deep social and emotional harm,” she added.

She said sex work was rife due to the market for it in Chatsworth.

“The clientele spans across different social and economic backgrounds from within the community and beyond. The demand fuels both the drug and sex trades, creating a cycle of exploitation that affects everyone.

“Every transaction perpetuates social decay, increases the spread of disease, and deepens the moral and emotional wounds within families.

“It also reinforces the normalisation of women’s exploitation, which erodes respect, dignity, and accountability in the broader community.”

Bechoo said the age group of the girls on the street was deeply concerning. “Most of them are between 16 and 30 years old, though some cases involve girls who are younger than 16. What is especially troubling is that many begin using substances in their early teens, often influenced by older peers or family members. This early exposure places them at heightened risk of exploitation,” she said.

She said the ADF had been providing non-judgmental, confidential, and trauma-informed services for women caught in the cycle of prostitution.

“Women can access help directly at our centre at 17 Trisula Avenue in Arena Park, where they receive individual counselling, drug testing, and referral to our outpatient rehabilitation programme.”

“Our approach is built on empathy and empowerment  helping women to regain control over their lives and rebuild their sense of dignity and independence,” added Bechoo.

“Unfortunately, there is not yet enough structured support. While ADF provides critical counselling, rehabilitation, and referrals, there is a shortage of shelters, transitional housing, and long-term reintegration programmes in the province.

“Many women relapse or return to the streets simply because they lack safety, income, or social support. We urgently need greater intersectoral collaboration between government, non-government organisations and local stakeholders to build a sustainable safety net that includes housing, job readiness, and continued psychosocial support,” she said.

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