Stop demonizing prostitutes
Mam Lilian Dube told Somizi Mhlongo on the first episode of Downtime With Somizi that she once worked as a prostitute and that she gets upset when people speak ill of prostitutes because nobody chooses to be one.
The actress also revealed she was raped several times and that she managed to survive the traumatising incidents without reporting them or seeking help from the authorities.
“I am a girl from Lesotho, I have had so many jobs, I have been a domestic worker, a nurse aid, a tea girl,” she explained.
“when you speak about prostitutes, I have been that, the children must eat, I must survive. I have done anything for survival but by the grace of God, I am now the most respected and loved actress.”
On the stigmatization of prostitution, Lilian said, “when people speak ill of prostitutes, I get so angry because no one ever desires to be a prostitute, circumstances lead them there.”