In Ethiopia, there are hundreds of thousands of women who are working as prostitutes. Many of them are working in low-level red light districts. In these areas, there are rows of tiny houses which are barely larger than the bed that they hold. The women rent these houses and have to pay each day – many times the rent goes above 100 USD per month. On average, these women get paid a mere 1 USD per client and generally work all throughout the day and night. It is becoming increasingly common for young girls – even younger than 10 years old – to be working as prostitutes in these red light districts. If they are not able to make enough money in a day to pay their landlord or pimp, then they quickly become indebted to them. This pushes the women further down the cycle of poverty, prostitution and despair.

Unfortunately, there are many single mothers in Ethiopia with nobody to watch their children. They are in a tough situation of needing to secure income for their family, but not being able to work at a normal job for eight hours a day. Many of them end up begging on the streets or entering prostitution.