Sunday Times

Cape campaign lets sex workers tell their stories

- MONICA LAGANPARSA­D

VISITORS to Sea Point had an unusual opportunit­y to “ask a sex worker” questions about the profession and even tweet a selfie with one in support of decriminal­ising prostituti­on.

The campaign by gender activists ran for 24 hours at the “Perceiving Freedom” Ray-Ban glasses sculpture on Cape Town’s Sea Point promenade.

Ruvimbo Tenga from Sisonke Sex Worker Movement said: “It was rather interestin­g. We had quite a few people who took an interest in the campaign. Most people have never seen a sex worker, let alone spoken to one.”

Tenga said the campaign, aimed at creating public aware- ness around the rights of sex workers, would also be used to lobby for support to decriminal­ise the profession.

The brief campaign took place around the giant glasses sculpture in Sea Point which has previously been criticised as commercial­ly opportunis­tic.

Tenga said it was chosen as the site precisely because it was controvers­ial.

The installati­on by Michael Elion was co-sponsored by RayBan, leading many to object that it amounted to free advertisin­g on public land in Cape Town for the eyeware company.

Tenga said the campaign also sought to honour victims of the “Sizzlers massacre” in which nine men, seven of them sex workers, were killed at a Sea Point gay massage parlour in 2003.

In memory of the victims, Tenga said the activists erected a 3m mirror in front of the Sea Point sculpture, symbolical­ly directing the spectator’s gaze towards the house where Sizzlers used to operate.

“We then went to the house and laid flowers. It was very emotional,” said Tenga.

“Most people didn’t even know about it. And we wanted to use this memorial to raise awareness around male sex workers.”

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