12/09/2025
Why “Porta Potty Parties” in Ghana are not about women’s choices – they’re about men’s behaviour.
Most people have seen the term “Porta Potty Party” on social media. It’s often treated as gossip: shocking hashtags, lurid headlines, or voyeuristic rumours from Dubai using the hashtag . But in Accra, during a recent field interview, I heard directly from a 25-year-old Nigerian s*x worker that this practice is alive in Ghana too. Her words were stark: “It all boils down to money.”
Women in Accra accept these degrading requests not because they want to, but because poverty leaves them no safe alternatives. They negotiate for survival. She explained how she might ask a client for GH¢2,000 (around $170) but often gets less. Whether she accepts depends on her situation that day.
And she is not alone. Her experience mirrors those of many others we encounter in our work at the Hope Education Project.
So the question is: why are men paying for this in the first place?
This is where the conversation needs to shift. Some men are driven by loneliness and s*xual deprivation. Others by compulsive behaviours or untreated mental health conditions. Many by distorted expectations from online po*******hy. And for some, it’s about power: the act of humiliating someone more vulnerable.
Porta Potty culture is not just a “kink.” It’s a symptom of male mental health struggles, s*xual health gaps, and social norms that normalise dominance over women. Yet public discussion reduces it to scandal. That helps no one. Women, and I would speculate, the overwhelming majority we can credibly call victims, remain stigmatised and hidden, while men’s role goes unexamined.
If we strip away the sensationalism and focus on education, we can reduce demand, support vulnerable women, and create healthier pathways for men.
👉 I’ve written a longer piece on our website that explores this in more depth which you can read here: https://lnkd.in/ecFjUBz2
*xualhealth
