Prostitution in South Africa
Prostitution in South Africa is illegal for both buying and selling sex, as well as related activities such as
In 2013 the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT) estimated that there were between 121,000 and 167,000
HIV,[4] child prostitution (including sex tourism)[5] and human trafficking[6] are problems in the country.
Legal and regulatory framework
The Immorality Act, 1927 prohibited extramarital sex between "Europeans" and "natives".[7] This was redefined by the Immorality Amendment Act, 1950 as illicit carnal intercourse between "Europeans" and "non-Europeans",[8]
The
The
Municipal by-laws also contained provisions about prostitution.
As part of the repeal of many apartheid laws under the government of P. W. Botha,[11] the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act 1985 repealed the interracial restrictions of the Immorality Acts.[12]
The Immorality Amendment Act, 1988 renamed the Immorality Act, 1957 to the Sexual Offences Act, 1957 and criminalised the act of prostitution. It also made the provisions of the 1957 Act gender neutral.[13]
In 2002, an appeal by brothel keepers and prostitutes in the country's Constitutional Court, submitting that the laws on prostitution were in breach of the constitution, was dismissed.[14]
The most recent legislative change was the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007, section 11 which added Section 20(1)(aA) of the SOA, which states that any person who has unlawful carnal intercourse or commits an act of indecency with any other person for reward, is guilty of an offence, effectively criminalising the client as well as the prostitute.[15]
In 2017 a report by the South African Law Reform Commission, recommended that the current law be retained (preferred option), or that prostitution should be decriminalised but third party involvement should remain illegal.[16]
Decriminalisation
Decriminalisation has been under active discussion since 2009. Currently the South African Law Reform Commission has four proposals that were submitted for public discussion ranging from criminalisation to decriminalisation.[17]
In the run-up to the 2010 Football World Cup, there were calls to decriminalise and regulate prostitution when an estimated 40,000 prostitutes were expected to travel to South Africa for the tournament.[18]
In March 2012, the
In April 2013, the Commission for Gender Equality also stated its support for decriminalization. They argued that current laws violate sections of the constitution, and that sex workers would be better protected if the law is changed.[21]
Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT), is a group based in South Africa that has been working to decriminalize sex work and eventually legalize it. They also provide health services for sex workers since they can't access them elsewhere. They have launched different programs to bring awareness to problems facing sex workers such as Sex Work Empowerment and Enabling Environment (SWEEP), #SayHerName, advocacy and law reform, and Sisonke movement.[22]
Human Rights Watch in its August 2019 report claimed that the sex workers in South Africa faced frequent arbitrary arrests and police profiling. In order to avoid police harassment, workers are forced to work in dangerous areas. Out of the 46 female sex workers interviewed by HRW, most of them had been raped by men purporting to be clients, and almost all had been victims of robbery or serious violence, including being beaten, whipped, and stabbed.[23] Liesl Gerntholtz, acting deputy executive director for programme at Human Rights Watch, said “Sex workers in South Africa face arrest, detention, harassment, and abuse from police, which also deters them from reporting rape or other brutal attacks against them.”[24]
In December 2022, the government published a draft bill that would legalise sex work.[25]
Police violence
There are numerous allegations of members of the
2010 World Cup
There were fears of increased prostitution in connection with the
Despite the fears, there was little evidence of increased prostitution.[29]
HIV
South Africa has one of the world's largest HIV epidemics.[4] A study by the SA National Aids Council (Sanac) estimated that there was a 60% infection rate,[30] although this varies from area to area, for example, Johannesburg 72%, Durban 54% and Cape Town 40%.[31]
The reluctance to use
Child prostitution
Criminal gangs recruit children from poor rural areas and take them to larger cities for commercial sexual exploitation.[6]
Sex trafficking
South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to
Hundreds of Women from Thailand, China, Brazil, Eastern Europe, Asia, and neighboring African countries are trafficked into South Africa and forced to work as prostitutes.[6]
South Africa is listed as a
See also
- Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work
- Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce
- SistaazHood
- Prostitution in Cape Town, South Africa During the Late Victorian Era
References
- ^ a b "Sexuality, Poverty and Law Programme". Institute of Development Studies. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country". Chats Bin. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "Estimating the size of the sex worker population in South Africa, 2013" (PDF). SWEAT. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ a b c "No condoms, more money say prostitutes". Sowetanl Lve. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ ECPAT. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "2017 Trafficking in Persons Report". US Department of State. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ a b Wikisource. – via
- ^ "Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977" (PDF). JUTA's Statutes of South Africa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-253-35395-5.
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ "Prostitution 'still illegal' in SA". BBC News. 9 October 2002. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ a b "Long-awaited report on adult prostitution in South Africa released". ENCA. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ "South African Law Reform Commission Project 107, Discussion paper on sexual offences and adult prostitution" (PDF). Pmg.org.za. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- ^ a b c "SA prostitution plans condemned". BBC. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ "ANC Women's League wants to decriminalise prostitution". Gateway News. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ "Sex workers' vulnerability is our vulnerability". Daily Maverick. 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- ^ "Decriminalise sex work: CGE". eNCA. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- ^ "What We Do | SWEAT". SWEAT. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
- ^ "Why Sex Work Should be Decriminalised in South Africa". Human Rights Watch. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ "South Africa: Decriminalise Sex Work". Human Rights Watch. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ McCain, Nicole (5 December 2022). "Cabinet gives sex work decriminalisation bill green light for public comment". News24. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- ^ Manoek, Stacey-Leigh (August 2012). "A Report on Human Rights Violations by Police Against Sex Workers in South Africa" (PDF). Women's Legal Centre.
- ISSN 2287-0113.
- ^ "World Cup 2010: 40,000 prostitutes to enter South Africa". Daily Telegraph. 5 Mar 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- PMID 22163298.
- ^ "60 percent of sex workers are HIV positive". Health 24. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ "Report: South African health and HIV survey among female sex workers". Health E-News. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Sex Workers, HIV & AIDS". AVERT. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ "South Africa 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
External links
- US State Department 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: South Africa
- UNESCO. Human Trafficking in South Africa: Root Causes and Recommendations
- Cape Town promotes sex tourism
- Liesl Gerntholtz: Sex work and the law in South Africa – hit and miss?
- ISS/SWEAT submission to SALRC June 2007
- Women's Net: Decriminalisation of sex work