https://rstesa.unaids.org/highlights/2020/item/222-kenigisa-sandriano?tmpl=component&print=1#sigProId3a1ba111e1
My family, everything. I was stealing from them, of course, and I was in jail for a year and three months for possession of marijuana.
I tried to behave myself because of what I saw there but I couldn’t.
Last Friday I was feeling bad because I tried to reduce my intake. I don’t smoke during the day; only at night because I need to get money. Friday, when it came to around 19.00, I started to feel bad. I reached the streets and it was raining.
A man called me. We negotiated for him to give me 20k (UGX 20 000, approximately USD 5).
He first asked me, “Do you have condoms?”, I said, “Yes, I have condoms”.
We went to the lodge, we put on a condom and we started having sex. Then after a while he wanted to take off the condom. I told him to add money and he added another 5k.
When he added the 5k, he became forceful. I said, “I have a habit you can’t just do it like that with no condom.” He got upset. “But this is what we negotiated!” he shouted at me.
He gave me a first slap and said, “Give me back my money.” I said no, you have already had sex with me. He gave me a second slap. Then he started slapping me seriously.
He made my eye like this. Even my finger, he almost broke it. I was holding the money tight and he was trying to get it out of my hand.
By the time I ran to the door and got it open, all the guys from the rooms were outside. I think they wanted to break that door. But the good thing is I got my money.
You think that if I wasn’t taking this stuff, this would’ve happened? I’m tired of this drug. Do you think if I wasn’t smoking, I would let any man come and have sex with me and give me 20, 30, 50k just like that?
These men they come to me because I am an addict.
I have the hope that I can stop. I even went to rehab for three months. They gave me CPZ (Chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic medication). When I saw my days of rehab coming to an end, I saw no plan and I started again.
I am ready to go to rehab again, but when I come out, I don’t want to be idle.
When they take us out of rehab, we need a job. They can say to us, “Work in a supermarket, work in this shop so you can stabilize.”
I am 24 years old. Can you believe I don’t even get my period? With this stuff you don’t get it until you stop using it. Today I came here [the Uganda Harm Reduction Network] to get a test for HIV. I am negative.
What is paining me is I don’t want to get infected; you know. I still want to get married later.