To the average citizen in Kenya, there is little difference between being an escort and being a prostitute. The reality is that the businesses under both the mentioned areas are quite different. There is a difference between how an escort earns money vs. how prostitutes do so. This article is about letting you know the essential difference between the two kinds of workers.
What prostitution is?
Prostitutes earn their money solely for sexual favors. This is illegal according to the laws in Kenya. Workers in this industry never officially advertise because that can put them into legal trouble. Here is the thing: having sex in exchange for money is by all means illegal.
In contrast to prostitution, an escort is officially in a profession. It is accepted as a respectable business and there is a lot of money in it. An escort provides her client with companionship for a defined period. It usually starts with a date. Nowhere in the profile does it mention that there are sexual services offered. This makes it a completely legitimate business.
Now it is true that an escort almost always has sex with her client, but there are cases where this doesn’t happen. There are many businessmen who travel to Kenya and are in for a short visit for a few days. They don’t always have somebody with them to give them company. Escorts fill this gap by giving them company with some other services.
They accompany their clients wherever they go such as for parties and other meetings. It is customary to have a female companion with you as a businessman. Prostitutes, of course, offer no such services to their clients. Any sexual activities with clients are considered private and not part of the service. Sex takes place with the mutual consent of both parties and is not paid for.
Other services
There are many duties that escorts have than providing clients with sexual pleasure. Escorts often work as assistants for people on a temporary basis. They reduce the workload of their clients by taking over some of the clerical work. They attend to the client’s calls and reply other people’s calls. In many cases, they also do paperwork for their clients.
Escorts are required to be smart and clever, something which isn’t always true of prostitutes. Clients pay escorts to have a really good time when they are with them. Sex is only part of what an escort may offer, and this is where prostitutes and escorts differ the most. A prostitute may only engage with her client for a few minutes or hours. However an escort may also accompany her client when he travels outside.
There are many escorts who even travel abroad with clients under certain conditions. Prostitutes don’t.
Massage services
Some escorts do not provide sexual services at all. They only offer massages to their clients. Massage parlors are also covered under prostitution laws, and so to some the escort business may be a convenient cover. Of course, those massage services also have an erotic angle, which is why clients pay more for them.
However, technically providing massage to clients is different from providing sex, and this is another area where the escort business differs from the business of prostitution. There are a number of escorts who are paid premium rated because they are excellent masseurs. The benefit that escorts have over prostitutes is that they are the ones who set the terms for clients. They clearly define what they provide and what they do not.
Escort as an excuse
There are many escorts in the industry who are involved only for the purpose of sex. It is a convenient way for them to go around the laws of prostitution, because they are not exchanging money for sex. Some escort agencies are just contact points for prostitutes, where they are paid a sum. They then pay the prostitute a portion of the money in exchange for her service.
Many women work as prostitutes for a few years, and then realize that they can get into more trouble with laws than they could get comfortable with. They then become escorts, which gives them better money. Indeed many escorts, even some of the highest paid ones, come through this route.
Better pay
The most decisive difference between prostitutes and escorts is that escorts get paid much, much higher. Escorts offer premium services. They are supposed to be smart, clever and have the ability to keep their clients entertained throughout their appointment.
