Sex work is just work
EFF: FIGHT TO DECRIMINALISE IT WILL HELP END ABUSE OF WORKERS
As the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) heads towards launching the people’s manifesto for the 2024 national and provincial elections, an analysis of the state of sex work and sex workers’ rights is paramount.
The EFF has consistently asserted that sex work is work, not as a marker of moral compass, but in the very literal sense of defining labour. Thus, the quest for decriminalising sex work is a crucial step in the direction of ending the victimisation and abuse of sex workers in our society.
The current legal framework as noted in Section 20(1)(aA) of the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957 criminalises sex work by considering it an offence to engage in unlawful carnal intercourse or “indecent” acts with another person for the purpose of remuneration or reward. These repressive laws are a product of outdated colonial views on sexuality, relationships and the autonomy of women’s bodies. As a result, sex workers experience abuse, at an alarming rate, at the hands of the South African Police Service, clients, and the community.
Statistics highlight that 71% of women sex workers have been exposed to physical violence and 58% have been raped.
The current hostile environment, created by criminalisation, perpetuates this violence and harassment, leaving sex workers vulnerable and without adequate protection. Additionally, current prohibitions on renting premises for sex work and other forms of organisation perpetuate the marginalisation of sex workers in society, while municipal by-laws are frequently misused to target and arrest sex workers.
Fear of harassment from law enforcement also leads sex workers to avoid healthcare centres, even for emergencies as they fear prosecution, leaving them at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as well as HIV/Aids. Research shows that criminalised settings have higher rates of STIs and poor health outcomes compared to decriminalised settings. As a result, in a country grappling with persistently high levels of HIV/ Aids, the criminalisation of sex work poses a particularly perilous situation.
The existing criminal sanctions also prevent both brothels and individual sex workers from operating as regular businesses, marginalising them into informal economy, where they have limited access to legal and economic protections.
As a result, recent studies in South Africa reveal that over half of women sex workers experience depression and nearly half face challenges in securing adequate food.
Furthermore, the criminalisation of sex work has inadvertently contributed to an environment where underage sex work, forced labour and sexual coercion are more likely to occur. The clandestine nature of sex work has rendered it challenging for law to effectively monitor and regulate.
This is why South Africa, according to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, has high instances of sex trafficking involving women from Lesotho being brought into South African brothels. However, the complicity of South African officials associated with these brothels allows them to persist in their operations without facing legal consequences. Through committed efforts from the EFF, in November 2022, the Cabinet gazetted the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill for public comment. The primary objective of the Bill is to decriminalise the sale and purchase of sex work in SA, specifically to address gender-based violence and femicide. On a technical level, the Bill seeks to repeal the Sexual Offences Act (formerly the Immorality Act) of 1957 and Section 11 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters)
Amendment Act of 2007.
In February 2023, the department of justice and correctional services (DCS) introduced this long overdue Bill to decriminalise sex work to parliament’s DCS portfolio committee. However, in May, the department announced that parliament’s draft Bill to decriminalise sex work was sent back for revisions, stating that it lacks provisions for addressing the impact of legislative changes on existing regulations in different municipalities.
These further delays and incompetence on the part of the ANC government are dangerous for sex workers, who have been waiting for a long time for this Bill.
As a result, in the EFF’s forthcoming manifesto, we will persist in advocating for the realisation of this Bill, providing an outline of the essential provisions necessary for it to finally be implemented into law. In essence, the fight for decriminalisation of sex work is the fight to preserve the human rights of sex workers and human rights are a non-negotiable tenet of freedom.
Naledi Chirwa is an EFF member of parliament
Criminalisation of the trade has led to forced labour