‘Name and shame sex worker clients’
DISGRUNTLED Glenwood residents have called for the customers of sex workers in their community to be publicly identified.
At a meeting held at Glenwood High School on Tuesday, residents were divided about how to tackle the problem of prostitution in the area.
Residents said they took issue with the fact that the women behave in an inappropriate manner, raising their skirts at passers-by.
The packed hall cheered when it was suggested that the men who visit the women face penalties.
A Clark Road businesswoman, who did not want to be identified, said she was faced with prostitutes standing on her business driveway on a daily basis.
“There are dozens of girls on any day standing outside. The women are not violent, but they are not discreet about what they are doing either.”
I’ve had prostitutes standing on my doorstep, raising their skirts at our guests
The woman said men “of all races, in fancy cars, pull up in broad daylight” to buy the services of the sex workers.
“The only way we’ll see a change is if these men are named and shamed.”
Thuli Khoza of the Sisonke Sex Worker Movement said the rise of prostitutes in the area suggested that there is a demand.
She said prostitutes were victims who are harassed by their clients and the police. She was against the idea of naming clients.
“Doing that is taking away someone else’s rights. What a person does is up to them, so if they want to buy sex or use the services of a sex worker then that person has the right to do so. So, naming and shaming the customer . . . I don’t think that will do any good. ”
Khoza said the organisation did not condone lewd behaviour. Short outfits were part of everyday life and not something reserved solely for prostitutes, she added.
“We, as an organisation, can do something about the flashing. We can say to sex workers that flashing is not okay. Even the municipal bylaws say that if someone is flashing, it is an offence.”
During the meeting, some suggested that money be invested in finding solutions so that sex workers are not simply driven out of Glenwood and into another community.
This was met with loud boos and shouts of “Tough” and “Not in our area”.
Residents of other communities also attended Tuesday’s meeting.
One, a Bellair man, related his community’s experience with sex workers.
“We had the same problems. I’ve had prostitutes standing on my doorstep, raising their skirts at our guests.”
He said he wanted to come to the meeting to hear residents’ resolutions and ensure that Bellair will not have to face the same issues if the prostitutes move.
“The one solution would be to open a properly licensed establishment and make sure it’s properly monitored.
“They [the prostitutes] have rights, but as a taxpayer I have the right not to have them standing on the roads and behaving badly,” he said.