SA prostitutes blast cops for scaring World Cup customers away

London, June 21 (ANI): Sex workers in South Africa have revealed that they are not doing good business, as cops are scaring away any potential customers at the World Cup.

They had hoped to cash in on the influx of foreign visitors, but prostitutes in Johannesburg say that it is getting tougher by the day.

"We have children to support," Sky News quoted two women in the city's red light district, as saying.

"We came here from the Transkei to try to make some money, but it's tough," they said.

The women claim the police crackdown has been violent.

Thandi, a sex worker in Johannesburg for 20 years, said she had been subjected to "harassment, abuse and rape".

"They want bribes. If we can't pay, they have sex with us and they don't pay. I call that rape," she said.

The fear of HIV may have also contributed to the slump, even though most of the women claim to practise safe sex, with only a few willing to forego a condom.

The prostitutes working the streets of Johannesburg charge around 3 pounds, while those who operate in the many hotel brothels earn just a few pounds more. (ANI)