FRIDAY, 4:30PM:
THREE Pretoria prostitutes charged with running a brothel have called on the Pretoria High Court to refer their case to the Constitutional Court because they argue that the Sexual Offences Act discriminates against women.
Their call comes in a week when the Gauteng provincial executive has given its support to legalising prostitution, sparking off a furious debate with religious groups and opposition political parties.
Meanwhile the Human Rights Commission, the government body charged with monitoring the constitution, released a report on Friday arguing that prostitution should be legalised as a means of combatting the Aids/HIV epidemic.
The report said that while it recognised that prostitution was morally repugnant to many people, “sex workers” had basic rights of privacy, dignity and freedom of association. The Sexual Offences Act should be amended, and sex with minors should become an offence under the Childrens’ Act, the HRC argued.
THURSDAY, 3.00PM:
AFTER a flurry of public controversy, Gauteng Safety and Security MEC Jessie Duarte stressed that the bid to legalise prostitution (see below) is in its very early and tentative stages. She said Gauteng could only act if there were national consensus on the issue.
A spokesman for Justice Minister Dullah Omar said on Thursday that giving prostitutes access to state protection forms part of the ministry’s gender policy discussion document released in April. Comments from stakeholders are still being “workshopped”.
Duarte’s statement came hours after Democratic Party MPL Peter Leon, a constitutional lawyer, pointed out that the constitution does not actually confer any powers, concurrent or exclusive, on provinces in matters ofjustice. Thus Gauteng cannot act alone on the issue.
WEDNESDAY, 9.30AM:
GAUTENG is poised to become the first South African province to legalise prostitution, following a meeting between government departments and religious groups on Friday.
The decision — which comes after months of debate and consultation — means the government will be able to regulate the industry, both in terms of measuring profits and preventing the transmission of sexual diseases, particularly HIV.
Decriminalisation is expected to ease the load of policing and lessen the exploitation of sex workers, who will in turn be required to register their profits and declare their assets.