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The fears of many South Africans regarding the legalisation of prostitution have been laid to rest, as the government will not allow itSince the discussions about whether or not to legalise prostitution for the Fifa Soccer World Cup 2010 season began, many South Africans raised their fears about how it would increase crime in their communities. While others felt that decriminalising it would only benefit those coming to South Africa to enjoy the country’s major event.
According to media reports, some health experts called on the government to legalise prostitution to reduce HIV infections, while a large number of these women in the sex trade were afraid that legalising it would expose them to harassment and assault. But officials in Durban, however, suggested that legalising red light districts would provide safety for these women.
BBQ spoke to Vivienne Lalu, advocacy programme co-ordinator for the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), which received a letter from the South African Law Reform Commission regarding the matter.
She said that the next step in the law reform process, or any law changing, will happen only in the year 2011. “The laws are not changing for the Soccer World Cup,” Lalu told BBQ.
SWEAT’s focus is mainly on outreach programmes, the distribution of male and female condoms, teaching women about their rights and having a closer relationship with these women, some of whom have become educators themselves in such programmes.
Lalu mentions that their organisation does not judge these women, as they have gone into the sex industry for their survival. They are also aware that these women have been unsettled about the upcoming soccer event in 2010, as they have seen how traders in the informal sector have been removed from their selling points and lost their livelihood in the process.
Earlier in the year, SWEAT revealed the hatred and violence these sex workers are subjected to in their line of work. The organisation believes that people should not be stigmatised for the type of work they do. “Sadly, we live in a world in which some lives matter and others don’t,” the organisation said.
According to the Human Rights Commission, every person, no matter what they do or have done, is entitled to the same rights – and this includes people who are trading in prostitution.
A woman in the sex trade, working on the streets of Milnerton, Cape Town, gave her view.
Miranda (not her real name), who starts at around 19h00 at her spot, says, “It’s not the kind of work that you want to do. Even when you grow up, you wish to be something big, but not this work.”
As I wanted to hear more, I was aware that her time was being interrupted; that she would lose out on business.
Miranda did not look a day older than 20 years and had been bruised (perhaps from a fight or being beaten – I could not ask), and said she would love to be a secretary, but that no one would give a “hooker” such a chance, regardless of her abilities.
In our five-minute talk, she mentioned that the business had its days and when she did get money, she would stay off prostitution for at least a day, but circumstances made her to go back after the money had run out.
She also realises that people do not give you any respect “in this kind of work”, as she put it, but perhaps one day things would change for her.
As for the fears of many residents, Lalu thinks that people have judged and demoralised those in the industry, and feels that people are not the ones who make laws and they do not have the right to judge others based on what they do for a living. These women were reportedly fearful when they heard the possibilities of legalising prostitution, saying it would expose them to harassment and assault. As much as this does not mean they will stop their business, it gives them some security in knowing that the law has not agreed on what will be a high demand in 2010.
Fikiswa Majikela
