It has come to light that teenage pregnancy and single motherhood are on the increase in the coastal communities of Half Assini in the Jomoro District of the Western Region due to a disturbing trend referred to as ‘sex for fish’.
This development involved teenage girls and in some cases, even married women having to have sex with fishermen in the area in exchange for fish.
A report by JoyNews confirmed that fishermen take advantage of the teenagers who are expected to contribute to the upkeep of their families.
Irene Obeng, Deputy Manager of the Jomoro Fishery Commission who confirmed the unfortunate phenomenon said that fishermen take advantage of young girls due to their age.
“The girls are young, so the fishermen take advantage of the situation and have sex with them, fish for sex is prevalent in the community,” she told JoyNews in an interview.
A fisherman, identified only as Maxwell, who has been fishing in the area for over a decade, acknowledged the trend, describing it as a quid pro quo.
“Everybody struggles for the fish when it arrives, because of this if you are not fast you will not get some.
“But, other people go to the fishermen straight for fish, it is not for free. So you give me fish, I give you sex, it is a barter system,” he is quoted to have said.
According to him, the “barter trade” is not limited to single teenagers, but married women also engage in it with the fishermen who always have an upper hand.
A teacher in the area lamented how many teenage girls have dropped out of school as a result of pregnancy from transactional sex.
One Adwoa, a 17-year-old single mother revealed that she met the father of her child through the same ‘sex for fish’ trend, She added that she opted out of their relationship when she realised that he had been doing the same to other girls.
