Esnath first traded sex at age 13, after she was forced out of her family home in Harare’s old suburb of Mbare.
To survive, she decided to lie about her age, she said, taking refuge with a group of older women who became her mentors in Hopley.
Hopley is an informal settlement south east of Harare with a population of approximately 200 000 people of which 65 000 are between 10 and 24years, according to a latest population  census.
Young people in this community have limited access to work opportunities often relying on informal work.
Child marriages and teenage pregnancies are the order of the day at Hopley, standing at 18% and 21% respectively according to a study conducted by the United Nations’ Population Fund (UNFPA).
The study also showed that at least 70% of girls in Hopley are mothers by age 24 years.
Here, Esnath was taught all sorts of survival tactics through sex as she was convinced that chances to land a job as a house maid out of Hopley were next to nil.
She is now among Hopley’s army of sex workers, most of whom are addicted to illegal drugs.

Drug abuse as a menace
Zimbabwe, just like many other African countries, is battling a rising drug scourge affecting mostly the country’s poor and crime-ridden suburbs.
There is no official data on drug or substance abuse in Zimbabwe as yet because a population size estimate has never been done, but anecdotal evidence points to a lot of illicit drug use on the ground in the country.
It is estimated that 60% of young people aged between 16 and 35 years could have used or are using drugs or similar substances.
“I was kicked out of the house by my brothers when I was 13 after I came home late,” Esnath said.
“I now stay here in Hopley with my ‘aunt’. Yes, I am a sex worker, but it’s my ‘aunt’ who mostly gets the clients for me. I have been under her custody since last year.”
Esnath said she was working for her “aunt”, who took care of her after she was kicked out of her home.
“You can now leave, if my aunt sees you with me she would think you are a potential client and you would, therefore, have to pay me,” she said.
“We are not paid directly by the clients, but she is the one who takes the money and she pays us once a week.
“If I had a place to go, I would do my things my own way.

We are three girls working under her.”
Esnath said apart from using beer outlets as hunting spots for customers, these days they frequent drug bases which are a hive of activity compared to traditional beer outlets.