Sex in the Sugar City: A Stark Contrast to the Capital’s High Demand

Business is usually slack for sex workers in the country’s second city, Lautoka. Unlike the fast movement in Suva, sex workers in the Sugar City have to wait for long to get a client.

If they are able to get at least one client during the day or night, then they will count themselves lucky. The charges levied by sex workers in Lautoka sound cheaper than what is asked for by those in the Capital City.

A check was done by the Fiji Sun in the Sugar City this week to find out about the sex trade there. One thing that was obvious was that sex workers there are only locals unlike in Suva where Asian women are also available in the main city.

Sex workers are seen standing outside a motel in Lautoka or lined up on a back street near the motel during the day, looking for clients.

In the evening, they sit outside a restaurant not far from the motel where they can take their clients for a “short time”.

Apart from the females, there are some male sex workers too who hang around in dark corners along a road near Churchill Park. Many a times, they end up going with a client at a lower rate than what they normally charge if business is really bad for them. Some of them move around from one motel area to the other in their desperate search for clients to earn some tax-free dollars.

Fees

A sex worker in Lautoka who this newspaper spoke to said she charged $50 for one hour of “full service”.

When asked what she meant by “full service”, she said it included everything that a man would like to get satisfied.

In Suva, some sex workers said they charged $50 or even $40 for oral sex while it was $80 or slightly less for “full service”. As for the Asian sex workers in Suva, they offer to give locals a onehour “massage” for $100 and $200 for a whole night of “massaging”.

Going back to Lautoka, some sex workers said they were okay if a client offered them some drinks and less money on a slack day, as long as they can buy some things to take home.

Prostitution is illegal in the country but it is an easy way for some women and even men to earn money to put food on their tables.