Amnesty International SA: Women resort to s.e.x work out of desperation

Amnesty International in South Africa has called for the decriminalization of s.e.x work and the protection of s.e.x workers, following the discovery of bodies of six women, believed to be s.e.x workers in Joburg.

“If you look at who are the majority of s.e.x workers … the majority are young, usually black women who are really doing s.e.x work in order to feed their families and their dependants. That is the reality of s.e.x workers in this country,” Amnesty International South Africa’s executive director Shenilla Mohamed told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.

“People don’t go into s.e.x work in South Africa in particular because it is a great thing to do. It is often out of desperation. We, and others have been fighting for decades for the decriminalization of s.e.x work for the simple reason that everyone has a right to be protected under the law. Everyone has a right to be safe. Decriminalizing it will give these people rights that they do not have, making them less vulnerable to abuse even from police and State officials.”

On Tuesday, the National Prosecuting Authority said it will oppose bail when Sifiso Mkhwanazi, the 20-year-old arrested after the bodies of six women were found, makes his second appearance before the Joburg Magistrate’s Court on October 18.

Mkhwanazi was arrested by the police on Sunday, after the gruesome discovery of the six bodies at his father’s panel-beating factory in Selby, Joburg.

His case was remanded to October 18 for further investigations, an identity parade, and his formal bail hearing. It is expected that more women will be called to identify him as more reports of other missing women surface.

Mkhwanazi is set to apply for bail when he appears in court on Tuesday next week.

Mohamed said her organization will continue to fight for decriminalization and “there is hope on the horizon but the reality is that it is taking too long”.

Scores of activists and advocacy groups representing s.e.x workers gathered outside the Joburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where the 20-year-old man was appearing.

Katlego Rasebitse, spokesperson for the Sisonke National Sexworker Movement told journalists outside the court that the repeated calls for s.e.x work to be decriminalised has been falling on deaf ears.

-IOL

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