1. Introduction & Background
Binga district in Matabeleland North is one of the most remote and poor parts of Zimbabwe, being ranked the 75th out of 77 districts in terms of Human Development in 2000. Binga town is the administrative center of the district, and is situated on Lake Kariba. The population of the town is estimated at around 7,000 - 8,000 people. The major employers in the town are various branches of the government, in particular the Rural District Council, the District Development Fund and the Ministry of Transport. Fishing is also important, with two main fishing camps situated on the lakeshore close to the town. Binga is not on any major trading route, though there is a tarred road that leads to Hwange and Bulawayo. A gravel road leads to Nyaminyami district and to Gokwe in the other direction.
In late March 2002, Save the Children (UK) food security staff visited Binga to carry out some preliminary research for a planned Household Economy Assessment in the district in April and May 2002. During a number of previous assessments in different parts of Zimbabwe, it had been said by various interviewees that one possible coping strategy for women during difficult periods would be to engage in commercial sex work. During the visit to Binga, the food security team attempted to gain some information on this in collaboration with staff from SC's Reproductive Health programme.
This research was very brief and simple, involving one long focus-group discussion with a group of commercial sex workers, who have previously been trained as peer educators regarding HIV/AIDS awareness. As such the group was familiar with SC staff and to taking part in research, and discussions were therefore open and frank. The interview was semi-structured, following the standard themes of a HEA interview (sources of income and food, and expenditure, and the effects of various scenarios on these). Quantification of income and food, however, was less important than gaining an overall understanding of the factors influencing the decision to get involved with commercial sex work. This research does not claim to be comprehensive, but does raise and elaborate on some important themes around the links between HIV/AIDS and livelihoods.
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