/ 26 May 2017

Being an adult sex worker shouldn’t be a crime – buying sex should be, say activists

As part of the government's HIV prevention plan
As part of the government's HIV prevention plan

A report on reforming adult sex work laws will probably recommend the continued criminalisation of sex work with diversion – in other words an offender will enter a rehabilitation programme and avoid the criminal justice system.

Embrace Dignity, a humans rights and feminist organisation, said this ahead of the report’s released later today by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha and his deputy John Jeffery.

The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) undertook to review adult sex work laws eight years ago.

Currently, adult sex work – the buying and selling of sex by adults – and all related activities are criminal offences under theCriminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007.

Debates about decriminalising or leaving adult sex work to remain criminalised are increasingly topical, particularly as sex workers have been killed – such as the death of Nokuphila Kumalo by artist Zwelethu Mthethwa.

The SALRC submitted four legal models to amend laws on adult sex work to the the justice minister in November 2015. Embrace Dignity describes these four models as the following:

  • Total criminalisation of adult prostitution (the status quo in South Africa);
  • Total decriminalisation of adult prostitution, including pimping and buying sex;
  • Legalisation or regulation of prostitution, including pimping and buying sex; and
  • Partial decriminalisation (called the equality law by Embrace Dignity).

The organisation says feedback on the SALRC report suggests the government will today announce that adult sex work remains a criminal activity. This means those who are bought and sold for sex, those buy and sell others for sex, and those who run brothels and profit from the sale of women for sex are all criminalised.

The main reason Embrace Dignity opposes the total criminalisation of sex work is it fails to address the underlying causes of sex work,chief among which are: men’s violence against women, patriarchy, unemployment, poverty, economic inequality and poor education”.

But the group is not calling for the total decriminalisation of sex work either, because would make more people vulnerable to HIV infection and it would be “making the state a pimp”.

It wants the partial decriminalisation of sex work, as legislated in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Canada, Iceland and a number of others the European.

This means sex workers’ activities are not criminal but pimping, running and owning a brothel and buying sex is a crime.

The model is effective, because sex workers will be able to exit the job as it provides backup services and support for them – and they don’t enter other job markets with a criminal record.