Gay sex is illegal in Zimbabwe, carrying a prison sentences of up to three years, but non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said reports of rising numbers of underage boys selling themselves on the streets were rife. He is one of the rising number of homeless children in a nation crippled by a cash crunch that has led to shortages of fuel and price hikes of basic necessities.Ĭhild rights’ groups said the sexual abuse of underage girls was widely discussed but to date little attention had been given to the boys caught up in the sex trade to survive. BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, June 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - On a sunny morning in the central business district of Zimbabwe’s second city Bulawayo, 14-year-old Tapiwa is basking in the sunlight on a busy pavement.Īfter running away from his abusive stepmother last year, Tapiwa turned to sex work to earn a living on the streets.
