NOXOLO MFOCWA AND LEE-ANNE GERMANOS: Sex work: Are South Africans ready for decriminalisation?

On December 9 justice & constitutional development minister Ronald Lamola announced that cabinet had approved the publication of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences & Related Matters) Amendment Bill of 2022, decriminalising sex work. The minister gave the public until January 31 to submit their views on a topic that remains controversial among a predominantly conservative SA society. 

Laws are made and remade with the purpose of reflecting the boni mores of society (which directly translated means “good morals”, but actually refers to the convictions of the community). As the world’s largest online platform for social change and an open petition platform, Change.org decided to test where South Africans stand on the topic of decriminalising sex work. Are they ready for it? Is this impending change in the law reflective of the boni mores of SA society? 

We already had two sex work related petitions on the platform before the minister even made his announcement: one in favour of decriminalising sex work and another in opposition. The petition in favour of the decriminalisation of sex work was started by a concerned citizen calling on Lamola to legalise, license, regulate and tax sex work (safe sex only) for consenting adults in private or in a local brothel setting, and to put some of the revenue towards fighting human trafficking, child abuse, domestic violence and therapists for sex workers wanting to get out of the business. The petition noted that most sex workers in SA are poor, black and female, and sell sex primarily to support their children as well as other dependents.

The petition further explained how the 2007 criminalisation of the buying of sex has made it even less safe. The petition starter cited that criminalisation undermines sex workers’ access to justice for crimes committed against them and exposes them to unchecked abuse and exploitation by law enforcement officials, including police officers. The petition also speaks to how criminalisation hinders sex workers’ efforts to access healthcare, including HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

On the other hand, the petition opposing the decriminalising of sex work, started by Doctors for Life, called on the minister to put an end to sexual exploitation by stopping the normalisation of dehumanisation, degradation, and violence against women. Doctors for Life argued that sex work creates a marketplace for women’s bodies, turning them into sexual commodities purely for the gratification of a buyer. The organisation argued further that it dehumanises and degrades a person to the point of physical and emotional breakdown as their worth is based on how well they perform as a sexual object; and that sex work occurs in an environment saturated with extreme forms of physical, emotional and verbal abuse.

Further, it argued that relaxation of laws around sex work inevitably makes pimps and criminals feel their business is legitimised, and provides more loopholes for them to traffic women and girls. They also argued that decriminalisation in other parts of the world has fuelled the sex industry, creating a need for a steady flow of women and children; and that the underground business of human trafficking is an easier and cheaper source of women in comparison to purchasing a woman through a legal registration process that involves additional fees and taxes.

With these two petitions representing both sides of the argument in the decriminalisation debate, as an experiment on December 12 Change.org sent over 600,000 South Africans in its userbase an email asking them to indicate whether they supported the decriminalisation of sex work, or if they strongly believed in the status quo, by adding their signature to the petition that reflected their opinion. Over 106,000 people read the email. The result, according to our data, and contrary to our perception of SA society, was that 56% of South Africans actually supported the decriminalisation of sex work, with 44% opposing it.

So are South Africans ready to decriminalise sex work? According to our data, yes they are. South Africans recognise that we cannot wish sex work away as there are many socioeconomic reasons that necessitate the existence of the sector. However, what can be done is to take measures to make it safe. With the high unemployment rate and many turning to various forms of sex work to put bread on the table, we must take steps to regulate sex work and grow our shrinking tax base by taxing sex workers’ income. For these reasons, it is clear that the move to decriminalise sex work is reflective of the boni mores of SA society.

Mfocwa is campaigns strategist, and Germanos senior campaigner, at Change.org SA.