Love for Rent...
Something that I've noticed more of is the number of young girls who accompany the many foreign men in the city. It seems that while in this very Catholic country, sex workers on the streets are a rarity, hiring a 15 or 17-year old girl as a "personal assistant" for $250 per month is more commonplace. So love is not for sale, but can be available on long lease...
Sex work is obviously 'the oldest profession', and also an easy option in a country where earning enough money to survive is an issue for most people. Even in countries where the situation is not as dire, more and more young girls are turning to selling sexual favours as a way of making a few bucks. In townships on the Cape Flats, many girls are having sex with sugar daddies in exchange for expensive 'gifts' like cellphones and designer labels. In Japan, the stereotypical image of the grey-haired, grey-suited salaryman paying schoolgirls for their white cotton panties after they have worn them, has crept into popular culture.
So why should Timor-Leste be any different?
Except with no contraception and one of the highest birth and morbidity rates in the world, it poses a particularly dire social problem. The average family size is between 8 and 12 children! And one has to remember that this is an island!!!
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