SOUTH AFRICA: CAUSE FOR JUSTICE (CFJ) SUBMITTED ITS WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS (HEADS OF ARGUMENT) IN THEIR INTERVENTION APPLICATION TO OPPOSE THE COURT PROCEEDINGS ON THE DECRIMINALISATION OF PROSTITUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA: ALLEGED NEWS. [1] Cause for Justice filed its court application to intervene in the matter with the High Court in Cape Town on 7 April 2025; Alleged News. [1]
SWEAT
In May 2024, a pro-prostitution organisation, the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Trust (SWEAT) and associated parties brought a court application challenging the constitutional validity of legal provisions that criminalise prostitution; Alleged News. [1]
Concern re child prostitution
The South African Law Reform Commission shares the concern that a shift away from criminalisation would cause an increase in child prostitution; Alleged News. [2] Although illegal and met with severe penalties, the preference of some buyers for younger girls has repeatedly been brought to the Commission's attention; Alleged News. [2] The Commission believes that child and adult prostitution cannot be strictly compartmentalised; many adult prostitutes started out selling sexual services when they were children and most vulnerable; Alleged News. [2]
South Africa on tier two watch list
According to May 2020 research by Marcel van der Watt of the University of South Africa, South Africa was ranked on the tier two watch list for the second consecutive year on the US Department of State ranking list, with the continued reference to both domestic and foreign victims exploited in South Africa's sex trade; Alleged News. (U.S. Department of State, 2019). [3a]
Girls as young as eight years old exploited by brothel owners
The study entitled Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism: South Africa, authored by O'Connell Davidson and and Sanchez Taylor (1996), documented the reality of girls as young as eight years old being exploited by brothel owners, while others, aged 11 and 12, were held and exploited in dilapidated apartment blocks; Alleged News. [3b]
Girl child victims' ages range from 4- to 17 years old
Research conducted by Molo Songololo (2000) set out to investigate actual reported instances of child trafficking for sexual exploitation within the provinces of the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal (KWN) and the Eastern Cape, and focused on Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth as the core areas where trafficking had been reported; Alleged News. (Molo Songololo, 2000, 16). [3c]
Interviews were conducted with, amongst others, families of trafficked children, detectives attached to police stations and the child protection unit, and representatives from a number of organisations that provide services to sexually exploited children; Alleged News. [3c] Child trafficking was found to be a predominantly in-country phenomenon: both girl and, to a lesser extent, boy children were identified as victims of trafficking, with girl child victims' ages ranging from 5- to 17 years old; Alleged News. [3c]
Children are entering the sex industry on an international level and in South Africa
According to Hesselink, (University of Limpopo), half the money made worldwide from the sex trade, comes from industrialised nations such as Austria, America and China, while more and more children are entering the sex industry on an international level and in South Africa; Alleged News. (SAPA 2009; Geldenhuys 2014a; Lewis 2015; SAPA 2009). [4]
Different forms of sexual exploitation
Geldenhuys (2014a] and Siegel [2016] add that human trafficking, child pornography and child prostitution are interlinked phenomena that cannot be separated and that the majority of trafficking cases that involve children in South Africa involve different forms of sexual exploitation; Alleged News. (Kamaldien 2016). [5]
According to Whiting (2014), child prostitutes are a diverse population that varies in cultures, genders and ages, and it is not strange to find 11- to 12-year-old girls soliciting in the streets in places such as Johannesburg (Gauteng), and Durban (Kwazulu-Natal); Alleged News. (Lewis 2015). [5]
Children are offered by their parents for as little as R50
Children are offered by their parents for as little as R50 in South Africa (Daily News Reporter, 2012); Alleged News. [6]
Heightened demand for child prostitutes
There is a heightened demand for child prostitutes (boys and girls) in South Africa,child victims are not only recruited from South Africa, but also from bordering countries such as Mozambique (Daily News Reporter, 2012); Alleged News. [6]
Young children, mostly girls between ages of 10 and 14, are exploited as prostitutes and other commercial purposes
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs 2020 findings on the worst forms of child labor: South Africa, wrote the following: "South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for child trafficking, with regular reports of children being rescued from human traffickers and sexual exploitation; Alleged News.[7]
Young children, mostly girls between the ages of 10 and 14 from poor rural areas, are exploited as prostitutes and for other commercial purposes, including domestic work, by human trafficking rings in urban centers such as Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg; Alleged News. [7]
According to the ILO in South Africa, an estimated 1.39 million people have been forced into commercial sexual work, an estimated 40-50 percent of whom are children; Alleged News. [7] Trafficked girls are forced into commercial sexual exploitation, while boys who are trafficked are usually forced to work in agriculture, begging, food service and street vending; Alleged News. [7] Orphaned children in South Africa are especially vulnerable to human trafficking, including children with disabilities who are also victims of forced begging; Alleged News. [7]
Female sex workers are exposed to high levels of violence
A study by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the Perinatal HIV Research (PHRU) shows that female sex workers (FSW) are exposed to extremely high levels of violence; Alleged News. [8] Early findings of the study were published in the SSM-Mental Health, Alleged News. [8]
Respondents in South Africa - reality of prostitution
Respondents in South Africa experienced inter alia, the following:
Respondent 1, was offered a lift in one of South Africa's major cities when she got lost, was kidnapped and trafficked for sexual exploitation around age 30; Alleged News. [9]
Respondent 2, was sold to a pimp in one of South Africa's major cities when she was 19 years old; Alleged News. [9]
Respondent 3, became homeless when she was eight years old, was gang-raped at the age of eight, trafficked when she was 18 years old; Alleged News. [9]
Respondent 4, was trafficked for over 20 years, was severely abused and is still disabled because of it; Alleged News. [9]
Respondent 5, was trafficked by her mother when she was 17 years old. She gave birth to a daughter who was trafficked as well; Alleged News. [9]
Respondent 6, was sold to a man when she was 15 years old, and held captive for almost 20 years, where she experienced daily sexual abuse, several abortions, and two children whom he took from her; Alleged News. [9]
Respondent 7, was abused at the age of six by her uncle, her grandmother trafficked her from the age of six to her early twenties; she was also drugged from the age of eight to prevent her from resisting sexual exploitation; Alleged News. [9]
Many victims of prostitution have reported childhood sexual abuse
Previous research has shown that many victims of prostitution have reported childhood sex abuse (Coetzee, Gray & Jewkes 2017, 1); Alleged News. [10] This is supported by the conducted interviews where several respondents mentioned sexual abuse from a young age, either by a relative or strangers; Alleged News. [10]
Significant economic consequence is loss of income
One significant economic consequence for women surviving prostitution, is loss of income; Alleged News. [10] Numerous respondents said they lack education since they were not allowed to finish school; Alleged News. [10] Without an education, it is more difficult to qualify for a job. Further, most of the respondents suffer from severe physical and psychological trauma which makes them unable to work most jobs; Alleged News. [10] Some women explained that their birth certificates, identifications and other legal documents - needed when applying for a job or place to stay - were stolen or destroyed by their perpetrators (the person who trafficked them); Alleged News. [10]
Depression, shifted spinal cord, bleeding, punctured lungs, broken bones
More than one respondent is still struggling with depression, one woman developed an eating disorder and has a shifted spinal cord due to several pregnancies, another woman suffers from bleedings due to the rapes; another woman was beaten so severely that her lung got punctured and she has had several broken bones over the years; Alleged News. [10]
Ms Mickey Meji, survivor and supporter of prostituted persons' exit from the industry
Ms Mickey Meji is a survivor and human rights activist, Alleged News. [11] Ms Meji's profession is Advocacy Coordinator at Embrace Dignity, a South Africa NGO which sets out to challenge gendered power inequalities that continue to oppress women and girls through prostitution, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse; Alleged News. [11] Ms Meji and all at Embrace Dignity are committed to tackling this situation through law reform, public education and by supporting prostituted persons' exit from the industry, Alleged News. [11]
Challenge the system of prostitution and abolish it
Ms Meji is a survivor of the industry; while she was still in prostitution, she was discovered by the organisation called Sex Workers Education Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT), which advocates for the system of prostitution and its recognition as legitimate work; Alleged News. [11] Ms Meji was there for a few years before she realised that she wanted to challenge the system of prostitution and abolish it; Alleged News. [11] Ms Meji later joined the team at Embrace Dignity, and advocates for abolishing the term "sex work", and recognizing the industry as exploitative and oppressive; Alleged News. [11]
Maternal suicide rate high among female sex workers
Studies indicate a high burden of mental health disorders among female sex workers in low- and middle-income countries; Alleged News. [12] The study by Macias-Konstantopoulos et al., aimed to examine the extent to which suicide is a cause of maternal mortality (death) among female sex workers (FSW), the contexts in which suicides occur and the methods used; Alleged News. [12] From January to October 2019, the Community Knowledge Approach method for identifying cause-specific deaths in communities, was employed cross eight countries, namely Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa; Alleged News. [12]
Reports on two thousand one hundred twelve female sex workers deaths in preceding five years
A total of one thousand two hundred eighty female sex workers provided detailed reports on two thousand one hundred twelve female sex workers deaths in the preceding 5 years, including 288 (13.6%) suicides, 178 (61.8%) of which were maternal; Alleged News. [12]
Of these maternal suicides, 57.9% occurred during pregnancy (antepartum), 20.2% within two months of delivery (puerperium) and 21.9% in the 2-12 months following delivery (postpartum); Alleged News. [12] The highest proportion of suicides occurred in Nigeria, Kenya, and DRC in sub-Saharan Africa; Alleged News. [12] A total of 504 children lost their mothers to suicide; Alleged News. [12]
Female sex workers experience trauma
Many female sex workers experience physical and psychological trauma associated with their life and work circumstances, resulting in a high burden of mental illness among female sex workers, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidality (Beattie et al., 2020; Millan-Alanis et al., 2021); Alleged News. [12b]
Suicide in youngest FSW age group of ten to 14 years
Among the youngest age group of female sex workers (10-14 years), the one death reported was by suicide; Alleged News. [12c]
Suicides among female sex workers
The largest proportion of suicides (n = 187,65%) occurred among female sex workers aged 20-29 years, for whom suicide accounted for 15.5% of all deaths from all causes; Alleged News. [12c] Across age groups, maternal suicide was most common during the antepartum period; Alleged News. [12c] The most reported methods of suicide were poisoning, hanging, drug overdose, self-inflicted stabbing (or cutting of the wrist/neck), self-immolation (setting oneself on fire), drowning, jumping from a height, discontinuing HIV antiretroviral therapy, and train strikes on railway tracks; Alleged News. [12d]
Filicide-suicide
Reports of filicide (parent deliberately killing own child) involved 14 of the 288 total suicides, and resulted in the death of 19 children.; Alleged News. [12e] Up to three children died per filicide-suicide; Alleged News. [12e] Reasons for filicide-suicide included family rejection, lack of resources to care their children, and new HIV diagnosis; Alleged News. [12e] Poisoning was the most reported method of filicide-suicide, followed by hanging and drowning; Alleged News. [12e] The youngest child killed was 2 months old; Alleged News. [12e]
Determinants of suicide
Text data from death reports highlighted the circumstances surrounding female sex worker suicides; Alleged News. [12f] Across 77 suicide reports, peer informants identified several determinants of suicide; psychological distress, economic hardship impeding their ability to provide for their children, HIV diagnosis, and unplanned pregnancy; Alleged News. [12f] The two cases of HIV-related puerperium suicide were associated with the infant also testing positive, and one of these two mothers committed filicide-suicide; Alleged News. [12f]
In addition to reports of not being able to cope or having no support, participants described not being able to care for children and incidents of abuse or violence by clients and intimate partners (e.g., boyfriends, husbands) as contributors to suicide; Alleged News. [12f] Peer informants described the rejection of a child by the father as a rejection of both the mother and child that increased the risk of the mother resorting to suicide; Alleged News. [12f]
Children left without mothers
Five hundred four children lost their mother to suicide; Alleged News. [12g] For maternal suicides following delivery, the average age of the youngest child was 3 months old and ranged from 1 week to 12 months of age; Alleged News. [12g] Additionally, the study reported 19 filicide deaths of children as young as 2 months old; Alleged News. [12h]
Homicide prevalent cause of death among sex workers
According to Nguyen et al., homicide is a prevalent cause of death among sex workers, given their increased risk of violence due to proximity to criminal activities such as drug trade and human trafficking; Alleged News. [13] The study analyzes homicide data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) covering 49 US states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico from 2012 to 2020; Alleged News. [13]
The study identified 321 sex work-related homicides (54% female, 41% male, 6% transgender); Alleged News. [13] Among female victims, 94% were sex workers, and 54% of their suspects were clients; Alleged News. [13] Money conflicts (23%) and other crimes (30%), most often in progress, commonly precipitated homicides of female victims; Alleged News. [13] Substance use problems were reported in 49% of female victims, with 25% of their suspected perpetrators reportedly using substances in the preceding hours; Alleged News. [13]
For male victims, 54% were clients and 9% were sex workers; Alleged News. [13] Suspects in male homicides were primarily sex workers (34%) or individuals engaged in sex work-adjacent criminal activities (36%); Alleged News. [13] Money conflicts (49%), other crimes (47%) most often in progress, and sex trafficking involvement (25%) commonly precipitated homicides with male victims; Alleged News. [13] Transgender sex worker victims were mostly transfeminine (94%); Alleged News. [13] Money conflicts (78%) most commonly precipitated homicides among transgender sex worker victims; Alleged News. [13]
Risk of HIV
Globally, sex workers of all genders and identities continue to face disproportionately high burdens of HIV; Alleged News. [14] Viswasam et al., saw the highest prevalence in Southern Africa. [14]
Following Shannon et al.'s meta-analysis reporting data from 2006 to 2017, additional studies on HIV prevalence were published in 2018, primarily among cisgender women sex workers, Alleged News. [14] These prevalence data indicate overall patterns of HIV acquisition among female sex workers across regions that were very similar to those noted in previous reviews, with the highest prevalence in Southern Africa; one study in Soweto, South Africa, documented a prevalence of 53.6% (95% CI: 47.5-59.9) among 508 sex workers recruited through respondent-driven sampling (RDS); Alleged News. [14]
Trafficking in persons
The aim of the report by Dr Marcel van der Watt was to explore available data and/or lived experiences related to incidents of TIP (Trafficking in Persons) in South Africa that overlapped, connected with, and/or were reported to any aspect of South Africa's criminal justice system; Alleged News. [15] The evidence convincingly shows that South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for Trafficking in Persons (TIP); Alleged News. [15]
Protests
For years, robust protests have continued against the decriminalisation of prostitution. In 2023, South Africa's Department of Justice invited public comment on the "Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill 2022", which sought to decriminalise sex work, a move which Catholic activists in Africa said would lead to the exploitation of vulnerable women and children in the industry; Alleged News. [16]
Petition by CitizenGo Africa
In a petition which was launched on January 10, 2023, the members of CitizenGo Africa who advocate for family values, protested the Bill; Alleged News. [16] The activists noted that international studies revealed that the policy of legalized prostitution failed wherever it was implemented; Alleged News. [16]
Petition supported by multiple organisations in South Africa
A Change.org petition entitled "Say NO to legalised Sexual Exploitation, Brothel-Keeping, and Pimping in South Africa", [17] is endorsed by Centre against Sexual Exploitation South Africa [18], National Freedom Network (the organisation's aim is to connect all the various counter-trafficking organisations with one another as well as with role players across the movement, it has since grown into South Africa's counter-trafficking network), [19], Hope Risen Foundation (organisation for prevention and assistance in rescue of children from sex trafficking and online sexual exploitation) [20], Embrace Dignity [21], Ms Mickey Meji, WowWoman [22], Brave to Love [23], Straatwerk [24], Freedom Ports Alliance (Counter Trafficking in Persons through Airlines and Airports), [25], Project Exodus [26], Shattering Shackles (combating trafficking in Persons and GBV [27] and Impumelelo Yethu Foundation (Women Empowerment Programme) [28]; Alleged News.
South African Law Reform Commission
The South African Law Reform Commission issued a report in June 2015, regarding "Sexual Offences Adult Prostitution"; Alleged News. [29] The Commission is of the view that exploitation, particularly of women in prostitution seems inherent in prostitution and depends on the external factors of gender violence, inequality and poverty and is not caused by the legislative framework in which it found itself; Alleged News. [30]
Sexual crimes against women
The Commission has concluded that changing the legislative framework could create an extremely dangerous cultural shift juxtaposed against the high numbers of sexual crimes already committed against women; Alleged News. [30]
Women would be considered even more expendable
Women would be considered even more expendable than at present; Alleged News. [30] The Commission has noted that the prevalence of prostitution in our society and the inherent exploitation associated with it is primarily a social phenomenon, which is reflective of deep-seated, economic and sexual inequality, and that legal mechanisms to address this social phenomenon are limited and are reactive in nature, but nonetheless necessary; Alleged News. [30]
Employment opportunities
The South African Law Reform Commission considered that given the nature of the service provided through prostitution, the core question seems to be whether prostitution should be considered to be work and more specifically decent work in the context of an employment relationship; Alleged News. [31]
Work to reduce inequality and defeat poverty
The aim of the International Labour Office (ILO) Decent Work Agenda and the Decent Work Programme for South Africa is to promote opportunities for people to obtain decent and productive work; Alleged News. [31] Similarly, the aim of the New Growth Plan is to create decent work that will contribute to reducing inequality and defeating poverty; Alleged News. [31]
Together with the 2009-2014 Medium Term Strategic Framework and the National Planning Commission, the focus is on addressing major developmental challenges in South Africa; Alleged News. [32] Many of these challenges are listed as reasons for entering prostitution, Alleged News. [31]
Quality education and skilled workforce is the ultimate goal
Decent employment undergirded by quality basic education and a skilled and capable workforce is the ultimate goal; Alleged News. [31] Neither the ILO nor the South African policy documents in number 30 of the South African Law Reform Commission report have promoted legalising prostitution as a solution to poverty, nor have they identified prostitution as an employment option for poor or marginalised people, Alleged News. [31]
Prostitution does not lift women out of lifetime of poverty
According to the Report, although prostitution may seem to provide superficially attractive short-term financial benefits, it has not been shown to lift women out of a lifetime of poverty and economic inequality; Alleged News. [32]
Women vulnerable to exploitation in prostitution
The South African Law Reform Commission concludes that within the South African context of high levels of gender violence and inequality coupled with the challenge of poverty, women are particularly vulnerable to being exploited in prostitution; Alleged News. [33]
Prostitutes are exposed to physical and psychological harm
The South African Law Reform Commission believes that evidence has shown that prostitution in South Africa is exploitative and that a significant number of women coerced into a lifestyle of prostitution through economic marginalisation (resulting from poverty, lack of education and inequality) are harmed by it; Alleged News. [34]. The Commission is alarmed by first-hand reports of the nature and extent of the physical and psychological harm that prostitutes are exposed to; Alleged News. [34] Although a partially criminalised approach may recognise the exploitation of the prostitute the Commission for Gender Equality averred that the Nordic approach had impacted negatively on prostitutes, Alleged News. [34]
The Commission agrees with the submission made by SWEAT that there are a range of existing laws to deal with crimes associated with prostitution and prostitution related activities; these include money laundering, drug dealing, sexual violence, assault, extortion and blackmail; Alleged News. [34]
The Commission also finds merit in the submission by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention that prostitution often takes place in parts of communities where urban decay has set in, resulting in a lack of social cohesion and a general neglect of the environment; Alleged News. [34]
However, the Commission believes that it would be naïve to think that prostitution could be neatly excised from the above activities through non-criminalisation; Alleged News. [34] Prostitution would continue to be shaped by the same socio-economic factors that concentrate crime in areas plagued by poverty, inequality and unemployment; Alleged News. [34] Country reports from Australia and the Netherlands confirm this pattern; Alleged News. [34] Violence perpetrated by buyers and other role players apparently continue unabated in non-criminalised settings; Alleged News. [35]
Concern re possibility of increase in child prostitution
The Commission shares the concern that a shift away from criminalisation would cause an increase in child prostitution; Alleged News. [36] Although illegal and met with severe penalties, the preference of some buyers for younger girls has repeatedly been brought to the Commission‘s attention; Alleged News. [36] The Commission believes that child and adult prostitution cannot be strictly compartmentalised; many adult prostitutes started out selling sexual services when they were children and most vulnerable; Alleged News. [36]
The Commission believes that, based on current indicators, the legislative options of partial- and non-criminalisation across the board might well encourage an increase in both legal and illegal migration, and possibly trafficking, for the purpose of prostitution; Alleged News. [36] The Commission notes that changing the legislative framework on prostitution might set up an undesirable dual system of legal versus illegal prostitution; Alleged News. [36]
Sex buyers
According to Basson, sex buyers are considerably more violent and abusive than other men; Alleged News. [37] Not only does their kind of violence cause severe physical and psychological damage, but it is also associated with inconsistent condom usage, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV acquisition; Alleged News. [37]
Physical and mental health problems of persons in prostitution
All of these combined lead to pressure on the state to provide services for the victims to treat their extensive mental health complications and the need for chronic medications (Coetzee, Gray & Jewkes 2017, 1); Alleged News. [37]
Of the 100 persons in prostitution interviewed during the study by Farlay, Lynne, and Cotton (2005), the majority suffered from extensive health issues; Alleged News. [37] The most common symptoms were aching muscles, jaw pain, memory problems, trouble concentrating, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, and others; Alleged News. [37]
Many of the respondents also reported stabbings, beating, concussions, and broken bones because of violence against them; Alleged News. [37] When refusing to perform certain sex acts, the women describe that they had their heads slammed against walls and beaten with baseball bats and crowbars; Alleged News. [37] It is also important to note that it is not only grown women who are forced into prostitution but also children; Alleged News. [37]
Sex tourism
The South African Law Reform Commission states that a topic often discussed in conjunction with a change in the legislative framework governing prostitution is sex tourism and the benefits thereof; Alleged News. [38] Although legalising prostitution may provide an initial advantage in increased tourism, the experiences of other countries show that this may have an unintended but serious long-term economic consequence; Alleged News. [38]
Once the pendulum swings back from the initial upturn in tourists, there is a very real risk of an increased presence of overt prostitution, which is associated with urban decay and a sharp decline in general tourism; Alleged News. [38]
The Commission states that when contemplating which employment and tourist market segment one wishes to attract to South Africa, it is doubtful whether this country's large home-based hospitality industry wishes to attract people who have a predisposition to gender-based violence - as research shows is often the case with buyers of sexual services; Alleged News. [38]
Posit that tax on sex workers would bring in revenue
In South Africa, it has been posited that if taxed, sex workers could generate a potential R8.4 billion in annual income tax; Alleged News. [39]
Prostitution costs
Bosson has this to say, "According to previous research, decriminalization leads to an increased demand for prostitution, an increased number of those victimized, and more harmful buyers. These consequences, in turn, lead to more costs for individuals and society. According to the results of this thesis, for individuals in South Africa, prostitution costs are primarily associated with the loss of income and increased healthcare expenses. For society, there is an increased need for easily accessible healthcare due to more severe trauma and more individuals needing help to survive;" Alleged News. [39]
From a comparative politics-perspective, South Africa and other countries, especially with limited resources, should not decriminalize prostitution but take measures to decrease demand and, in turn, lower costs associated with prostitution and invest the money where it is needed - in functioning safe houses and exit programs; Alleged News." [39]
National strategy recommended
The South African Law Commission recommends that irrespective of the policy option chosen, a national strategy should be implemented to deal with prostitution; Alleged News. [40] It is further recommended that this national strategy should seek to implement the legislation or policy; offer viable alternatives to prostitution; assist a person to exit prostitution should he or she express a willingness to do so; support reskilling, health and education initiatives for prostitutes; promote economic independence; and promote sexual health and safer sexual practices; Alleged News. [40]
Prostitutes in South Africa are at risk of violence, inconsistent condom use, sexually transmitted infections, and H.I.V. acquisition
According to a study conducted with 506 prostituted persons in South Africa in 2017, in the region of Soweto, over 90% had experienced some violence across their lifetime, and 70.8% had experienced sexual violence in the past year; Alleged News. [41] Not only does this kind of violence cause severe physical and psychological damage, but it is also associated with "inconsistent condom use, sexually transmitted infections, and H.I.V. acquisition"(Coetzee, Gray and Jewkes 2017, 1); Alleged News. [41]
A study with 854 interview respondents from nine different countries drew some disturbing conclusions that portray the reality of being a victim of prostitution; Alleged News. [41] The study found that 71% were physically assaulted in prostitution, 89% wanted to escape prostitution but did not know how, 75% experienced/had experienced homelessness, 63% were raped, and 68% met PTSD criteria (Farley et al., 2004, 33-34); Alleged News. [41]
Concerned South Africans
One of the concerns inter alia in South Africa among citizens is that if prostitution becomes decriminalised, adults and children who are experiencing prostitution will not be prioritised for rescue from coerced sex work. or receive education and social welfare support for a better life, but will face both tax on meagre earnings as well as a lifetime challenged by poverty, increased risk to health and the possibility of suicidal ideation.
WHY NOT SIGN THE PETITION?
[1] Joy News. Court bid opposing the decriminalisation of prostitution gaining momentum; Alleged News
https://joynews.co.za/court-bid-opposing-the-decriminalisation-of-prostitution-gaining-momentum/
[2] South African Law Commission. Report. Project 107. Sexual Offences Adult Prostitution. June 2015. ISBN: 978-0-621-42727-1. Number 37 on page xx
https://www.justice.gov.za/salrc/reports/r-pr107-SXO-AdultProstitution-2017.pdf
[3] Researchgate. Van der Watt, M. Department of Police Practice, University of South Africa. Child trafficking and children in South Africa's sex trade: Evidence, undercounting and obfuscations; Page 58; Alleged News
[3b] Van der Watt, Ibid. Page 64
[3c] Van der Watt, Ibid. Page 65
[4] Hesselink, A.E. University of Limpopo. Child and youth misbehaviour in South Africa: A holistic approach. (Chapter 5: Child Prostitution). Publisher: Van Schaik Publishers. November 2018. Page 315
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329059618_Child_prostitution_Chapter_5
[5] Hesselink, ibid. Pages 315 to 316
[6] Hesselink, ibid. page 316
[7] U.S. Department of Labor. 2020 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor: South Africa; Alleged News. Pages 1 to 2
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2020/South-Africa.pdf
[8] University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg. Research shows that female sex workers are exposed to extremely high levels of violence; Alleged News
[9] Basson, Nikolina. Thesis, Bachelor Thesis, Political Science. "The cost of survival. A qualitative case study of South Africa investigating the personal costs of prostitution and the potential impact of policy changes." 8/1/2025. Halmstead. Page 15 to 16
https://hh.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1936598/FULLTEXT01.pdf
[10] Basson, ibid. Page 17
[11] WowWoman Ms Mickey Meji (See in Endorsed by section)
[12] Cambridge University Press. Macias-Konstantopoulos et.al, "Suicide during pregnancy as a major contributor to maternal suicide among female sex workers in eight low- and middle-income countries: A community knowledge approach investigation. 12 November 2024. Abstract
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/global-mental-health/article/suicide-during-pregnancy-as-a-major-contributor-to-maternal-suicide-among-female-sex-workers-in-eight-low-and-middleincome-countries-a-community-knowledge-approach-investigation/805426CCDA4D65CBD82489538D85F753
[12b] Macias-Konstantopoulos et al. Ibid. Introduction; Alleged News
[12c] Macias-Konstantopoulos et al. Ibid. Suicide deaths by age group; Alleged News
[12d] Macias-Konstantopoulos et al. Ibid. Methods of suicide; Alleged News
[12e] Macias-Konstantopoulos et al. Ibid. Filicide-suicide; Alleged News
[12f] Macias-Konstantopoulos et al. Ibid. Determinants of suicide; Alleged News
[12g] Macias-Konstantopoulos et al. Ibid. Children left without mothers; Alleged News
[12h] Macias-Konstantopoulos et al. Ibid. Discussion; Alleged News
[13] Journal of Forensic Sciences. Nguyen et al. 2024. Sex work-related homicides: Insights from the National Violent Death Reporting System, 2012 to 2020: Abstract ; Alleged News.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37986645/
[14] National Library of Medicine. Viswasam et al. Chapter 2. The Epidemiology of HIV among sex workers around the world: implications for research, programmes and policy; (from the book, Sex work, health, and human rights; global inequalities, challenges, and opportunities for action (internet); Alleged News
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585689/
[15] Laser Pulse. Author: Dr Marcel van der Watt. Research into the Nature and Scope of Trafficking in Persons in South Africa: Prevalence insights from the Criminal Justice System and relevant reporting mechanisms; Alleged News. June 2, 2022
[16] Catholic activists warn of exploitation as South Africa seeks to legalize sex industry; Alleged News
[17] Change.org petition, "Say NO to legalised Sexual Exploitation, Brothel-Keeping, and Pimping in South Africa"
[18] Centre against Sexual Exploitation South Africa
[19] National Freedom Network
[20] Hope Risen Foundation
[21] Embrace Dignity South Africa
[22] WowWoman Ms Mickey Meji (See in Endorsed by section)
[23] Brave to Love
[24] Straatwerk
[25] Freedom Ports Alliance
https://freedomportsalliance.com/
[26] Project Exodus
https://www.projectexodus.net/
[27] Shattering Shackles
https://www.facebook.com/shatteringshackles/?_rdr
[28] Impumelelo Yethu Foundation
https://www.facebook.com/people/Impumelelo-Yethu-Foundation/100067930471270/#
[29] South African Law Commission. Report. Project 107. Sexual Offences Adult Prostitution. June 2015. ISBN: 978-0-621-42727-1.
https://www.justice.gov.za/salrc/reports/r-pr107-SXO-AdultProstitution-2017.pdf
[30] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Number 8. Pages ix to x
[31] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Number 30. Pages xvii
[32] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Number 31. Pages xvii to xviii
[33] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Number 34. Pages xviii
[34] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Number 35. Pages xix
[35] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Number 35. Pages xix to xx
[36] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Number 35. Page xx
[37] Basson, ibid. Page 8
[38] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Point 1.17. Page 6
[39] The Citizen. Hein Kaiser. Friday 29 August 2025. Sex work set to go on trial, Alleged News
[40] South African Law Commission. Ibid. Point 1.17. Page 6
[41] Basson, ibid. Page 4
With thanks to Joynews.co.za, justice.gov.za,, researchgate.net, wits.ac.za, hh.diva-portal.org, wowwoman.com, cambrige.org, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih,gov, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, humantrafficking.org, aciafrica.org, change.org, case-sa.org, nfn.org.za, hoperisen.org, embracedignity.co.za, bravetolove.com, straatwerk.org.za, freedomportsalliance.com, projectexodus.net, shattering shackles facebook, Impumelelo Yethu Foundation Facebook and The Citizen
