CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals , an ongoing series. Due to the stigma associated with sex work in Senegal, the women CNN interviewed asked that their identities be protected. They are identified using pseudonyms. Click here for more stories from the As Equals series. An unregistered sex worker is photographed at her home in Dakar, Senegal.
Sex work is legal here. Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Dakar, Senegal — On a sweltering afternoon in a suburb of Dakar, Binta is among a group of women waiting to be seen in the back of a Senegalese government clinic.
When her name is called, she is ushered into a check-up room, tested for a series of sexually transmitted infections STIs and handed free condoms. At the end of the appointment, the nurse stamps her identification card, called a "carnet sanitaire," which she is required to carry as a registered, legal sex worker. The year-old single mother travels over an hour and a half by taxi to get here, even though it means she's sometimes late for her evening computer science classes.
On the ride through Dakar's traffic-snarled streets, she flips through photos of her 4-year-old son on her phone. For Binta, it's worth the long commute: "I go here because it's discreet. Under the program, sex workers must register with police, attend mandatory monthly sexual health screenings, test negative for STIs and carry a valid ID card confirming their health status.
If a sex worker contracts HIV, they're given free antiretroviral therapy treatment before being allowed to continue soliciting clients.
