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No Sex Please, We're Colombian
Gang members in the city of Pereira in Colombia are today facing an ultimatum: give up guns or give up sex.
In a modern day echo of the famous Greek comedy Lysistrata, the wives and girlfriends of the town's gang members are refusing sex until their menfolk lay down their weapons.
"We want them to know that violence is not sexy," says Jennifer Bayer, 18, the girlfriend of a gang member. She and two dozen other women say the 'sex strike' will continue until their men hand over their weapons to authorities and sign up for vocational training offered by the mayor's office.
Pereira, a city of 300,000, has the nation's highest murder rate, estimated at 97 per 100,000 inhabitants. Over 480 killings were reported last year.
The "strike of crossed legs" has even inspired a rap anthem, performed by the women. No one knows yet whether it will reach number one in the Colombian radio charts.
But the boys with guns have a different answer. While their girlfriends are keeping their legs crossed, the men are reportedly contributing to the booming success of the oldest profession in the world.
The world had prostitutes before it had guns. And more than a few of the ladies of the night of Pereira are welcoming the guys with open legs.
