ZIMBABWE: Hookers charge circumcised men more: "They take longer"

Zimdiaspora
March 2, 2013

Harare circumcised men forced to pay US$30 extra

UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended circumcision as an important new element of HIV Prevention.

As such, local health authorities have since embarked on a massive campaign encouraging men to get circumcised. The campaign has seen prominent musicians like Winky D and high profile politicians such as Mines Minister Orbert Mpofu being circumcised too.

Scientific trials have shown that male circumcision can reduce a man's risk of becoming infected with HIV during sexual intercourse by up to 60% hence the call for this campaign dubbed 'Pinda MuSmart'.

[Yet more circumcised Zimbabwean men have HIV than non-circumcised - just as they did before the circumcision campaign began:


Click to enlarge]
However, despite the health and hygienic advantages of circumcision, it has since been established that circumcision also BOOSTS revenue for a large quota of prostitutes. In a random survey conducted by this publication, siphoning information from sex workers, circumcised men pay more for sex. Revelations made by hookers operating around the Avenues, Harare's unrivalled red light district, show that prices for sex vary depending on the potential client's "circumcision status".

Their argument was that since the process of circumcision involved the removal of foreskin which contains sensory nerve receptors, that diminishes the man's sensitivity thereby increasing the period of sex sessions. An increase in time in the sex session, they argued, meant a loss of other potential clients in that period because they thrive on 'pushing volumes'.

"You see the problem with circumcised clients is they take too long to complete a single round. I might risk losing revenue from other clients and waste time on one guy for the same price, so we therefore push our charges upwards if one is circumcised," said a self proclaimed prostitute. [So it hardly "BOOSTS" their revenue, just brings it back up to par.]

Several other sex workers corroborated with her stating that there is a slight increase of US$20 to about US$30 if their client is circumcised. [So that's only $10 more.]

[Clearly the prostitutes don't believe circumcision protects them from HIV. Much more important is whether they accept sex without condoms.]

ZIMBABWE: Man wants his foreskin back

Bulawayo24 (Zimbabwe)
November 4, 2012

Man demands his foreskin back after circumcision

A Chiredzi man who claims to have lost erection after being circumcised in the Pinda Musimati HIV and Aids Campaign has become a bother at the Family Aids Caring Trust (FACT) in Chiredzi where he is demanding his foreskin back.

FACT executive director for Chiredzi, Ropafadzo Magwaza confirmed the story and said she was happy that the man had not become violent. ...

Magwaza said she quickly organised a stakeholders meeting to clear the man's issues. The man confronted FACT Chiredzi volunteers working in the area and demanded that they give him back his foreskin as he had experienced weak erection since he went through the knife. He said he had become weak and could not get the erection that he used to and even accused the organization of taking people's foreskins for ritual purposes because other newspapers had refuted the claim that circumcision reduces HIV and AIDS by 60%.

"Yes, we received the report but we are happy that the man never became violent but is always nagging our staff over his foreskin. This prompted us to call for an urgent stakeholders meeting where we called the National Aids Council (NAC), Zimbabwe Aids Network (PSI), NANGO, traditional leaders including Chief Chilonga, Chief Chitanga Chief Tshovani, a medical doctor from Hippo Valley and councilors.

"FACT Chiredzi does not carry out circumcision but we only mobilize people and do all the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VTC), while the hospital carry out the circumcision. We are happy that Chief Chilonga managed to explain to participants fully about male circumcision. It was a relief to hear words of wisdom from a traditional leader," said Magwaza. [And did the words of wisdom give the man back his erections - or his foreskin?]

Confusion over circumcision hit the head lines as newspapers ran conflicting stories on the advantages of circumcision, with President Robert Mugabe's health advisor Timothy Stamps rubbishing the survey and calling it baseless and misleading.

[Memo to circumcision advocates and providers: Include
"I understand that circumcision is irreversible and I can NEVER get my foreskin back" in informed consent forms.

And he could be shown with this model what is removed:

[Before]

[After]