By SIMON COLLINS
Schoolgirls are prostituting themselves on South Auckland streets "for a packet of smokes and a tin of corned beef," according to Maori wardens.
Manurewa-based Maori warden Gordon Wright says some nights up to eight young girls are on the streets. Others are working the streets during the day.
"These kids
are doing it for a packet of smokes and a tin of corned beef," he says.
An Aids Foundation trustee who is working with the wardens, Mama Tere, says the girls are going on the streets after school for "new jackets and shoes and all those sorts of things that they want."
"Maybe their parents can't afford to pay for their school trips or their uniforms," she says.
The street workers are an extreme example of a growing phenomenon of students working after school, both for themselves and to support their families.
Senior Sergeant David Simpson of Otahuhu says he is aware that some schoolgirls have "tried it on," although the police have not yet picked up anyone who is still at school.
"What tends to happen is that because quite a thriving little sex industry has started up in the Hunter's Corner area, and has been in and around Otahuhu for a while as well, it tends to be a magnet for young girls who try it on, perhaps to make a bit of money," he says.
"That is of considerable concern to police because there are obvious safety issues."
Caroline Kaa of the Manurewa District Truancy Service says she is also aware that some girls are selling their bodies.
"It happens mostly during the day when they should be in school," she says.
"The reason basically is that they are after some money to support the family."
A former MP and Anglican priest, Ann Batten, has formed a group to raise money to support the work of the Maori wardens and Te Aronga Hou, a support service that Mama Tere has established in Manurewa for the gay and transgender community.
Te Aronga Hou has just acquired premises it plans to open as a support centre. If funds can be raised, Mama Tere hopes to create a similar centre for all sex workers, including counselling and a place where girls found on the street can stay.
