Young women from north engaged in prostitution in south to earn extra money while working

A number of young women in the Northern province who are currently working in private institutions in Colombo and South reportedly have no option but to engage in  prostitution to earn additional income due to the prevailing economic hardships in the country.

This was revealed by a group of women who were arrested during a recent raid on a brothel at Maradana in Colombo.

The police had raided a brothel in Maradana and had arrested 19 women in which the majority, 11 of them were residents of Mannar and Vavuniya.  

The young women told the police that they were working in a garment factory, but were engaged in prostitution because they were unable to send money to take care of their families and were not earning enough to live on.

Meanwhile, a women's organization in the north revealed that some brokers from the south had come to the northern province and offered jobs in private institutions. They claimed the brokers were deceiving young women and taking them to the Colombo and southern region and engaging them in prostitution in limited time. (Romesh Madushanka)