Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) Founder and CEO Dr. Kennedy Odede carried out an innovative boat riding initiative at Luanda Kotieno Beach in Rarieda, Siaya County, aimed aimed at curbing the entrenched fish-for-sex culture that has long plagued Lake Victoria’s riparian communities.
The move comes amid rising concern that transactional sex between female fish traders and fishermen has fuelled economic exploitation and contributed to higher rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in the region.
“This isn’t just about boats. It’s about dignity, and opportunity. We are supporting women to do their fish business independently without relying on men who exploit them.
“The competition we organised today is just a beginning of others we will roll out next year in all the shores of Lake Victor across Kisumu, Homa Bay and Siaya counties,” Dr. Odede said.
The fish-for-sex, locally known as “jaboya”, is practice where female fishmongers engage in sexual relationships with fishermen in exchange for preferential access to fish.
Women typically dominate fish processing and sales but have limited access to fishing boats or direct catches, forcing many into precarious arrangements in order to secure stock for resale.
“We are going to work with women and men to end fish-for-sex vice in the lake side region,” Dr. Odede said.
The boat ride competition attracted over 5000 spectators.
This dynamic has been linked to increased HIV prevalence in lakeside communities.
According to National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC) research highlighted that HIV incidence in lake beach communities is around 26.2%, markedly higher than typical rural or urban populations.
Luanda Kotieno Beach Chairman George Ochieng welcomed the initiative terming at as a gamechanger in addressing the vice.
“We have been grappling with not only declining fish stocks but also the social fallout of jaboya.
“We are encouraging our women to work hard and avoid being misused by men who are only interested in exploiting their vulnerability,” he said.
Local fish trader Janet Otieno, who also competed in the competition, shared a personal perspective on the issue.
“Women here have always jostled for fish stocks, and when catches are low, the pressure increases. Some women feel they have no choice but to comply with demands from fishermen who control the boats,” she explained.
The fishermen and women were given lifejackets and the overall winner got boat machine to ease their movements in the water.
SHOFCO plans to partner with the county government to offer skills training, financial literacy, and health education, reinforcing a multi-pronged assault on the jaboya economy.
“We must address the scarcity of fish, the economic marginalisation of women, and the lack of alternative livelihoods that push them into exploitative arrangements,” he said.
Dr. Odede also called for expanded investments in aquaculture and sustainable fishing technologies, solutions that could boost fish supply and lessen dependency on shore-based exchanges.
Some research notes that beach communities in Nyanza could account for about 25% of new HIV infections in the region, owing in part to mobility of fishermen and transactional sexual networks.
An estimated 127,000 women in Nyanza are directly or indirectly involved in the fish trade, many of whom face pressure to participate in jaboya arrangements to access fish.
