Fish For Sex
Malawi, 2018
A major driver of the AIDS crisis in Malawi, fish-for-sex refers to an ‘arrangement’ between female fish traders and fishermen, in which the traders engage in a short-or long term sexual relationship to get fish to sell on the market. Women receive more fish if they agree to have unprotected sex, and because both the fishermen and fish traders move around in search of lucrative fishing areas or markets, the probability of contracting HIV is high.
In many areas in Malawi, fish-for-sex is commonplace, although the manner in which it occurs often differs. Fishermen and fish traders, who almost only female, negotiate how many litres of fish should be traded for an hour or a night. The agreement can be between a fisherman and a sex worker, a fish trader, or a woman looking to buy fish for her own consumption. In some areas this happens out in the open, and in others the trade is hidden. Sometimes sex is used as a direct payment, as a bonus, or a ‘fine’ for failing to repay a loan.
This series investigates the skewed gender dynamics in the relationship between fishermen and female fish traders across southern Malawi and the reasons behind the fish-for-sex trade, as well as its effects on those who engage in it.
Some names and identifying details have been changed in the captions to protect the privacy of the individuals featured in these images.
Shortly after dawn, fishermen untangle and lay out their nets, Makawa beach, Mangochi, Lake Malawi.
Chambo, Nkopola, Mangochi.
Fish traders crowd around boats which have just landed after the previous night’s fishing, Makawa beach, Mangochi, Lake Malawi.
Alfred, Health worker, Nkopola, Lake Chilwa.
Chrissy stands in her hair salon, Mpyupyu.
Benjamin, Project officer for the Timotheos Foundation, Bangula.
Fisherman Trouble, Makawa beach, Mangochi, Lake Malawi.
Fisherman, Elephant Marsh, Malawi.
Fisherman Dominic, Makawa beach, Mangochi, Lake Malawi..
Former fish trader Cathrine sits in front of a building, holding her one-year-old son, Kachulu, Lake Chilwa.
Female Fishtrader stands in front of a reed hut with her son, Elephant Marsh.
Female Fishtrader, Elephant Marsh, Malawi.
A group of fishermen prepare their nets on a beach, before heading out for a night on the water, Masaka.
A fisherman smoothes over a night’s catch of usipa, a small sardine-like fish that his crew will sell on the beach at Masaka, Lake Malawi.
Boats slowly make their way across Lake Chilwa towards Chisi Island.
Female Fishtrader, Elephant Marsh, Malawi.
Fisherman and his wife, Chisi Island, Lake Chilwa, Malawi.
Female Fishtrader walks home with her one-year-old son, Chisi Island, Lake Chilwa.
Abandoned fishing nets, Chisi Island, Lake Chilwa.
A fisherman stands on the front end of an abandoned fishing boat, Chisi Island, Lake Chilwa.
Female Fishtrader, Kachulu, Lake Chilwa, Malawi.