By: Ollus Ndomu
The world’s oldest profession, sex work, has continued to thrive in South Africa amidst the raging coronavirus pandemic and social ills including abuse, stigma and violence.
On Tuesday, September 14, several hundred of sex workers and advocacy groups clad in colourful outfits celebrated the International Sex Workers Pride as they marched and chanted self praises across the streets of Cape Town.
South African health authorities used the event to vaccinate sex workers against Covid-19 and tested them for STI’s, HIV while giving them condoms and lubricants.
According to the local tabloid, Groundup, the march was organised by Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) and it started at Mowbray police station where sex worker Robyn Montsumi died in police custody in April 2020.
From this police station, the marchers went to the Blackpool Sports Complex in Salt River, where several organizations are earmarked to erect pop-up information stalls. There, the Sex Workers Theatre group performed.
Speaking to journalists, SWEAT communication officer, Megan Lessing, said sex workers were operating very difficult conditions adding that majority had no access to health services.
Lessing explained that sex were vulnerable to police abuse and intimate partners because the profession lacks legal approval and support.
A latest 2021 national survey on the plight of sex workers showed that levels of violence against night workers was rife adding that majority were running on lose due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Gulam Petersen, lobby officer at SWEAT and a transgender sex worker with 30 years of experience revealed that Covid-19 restrictions affected the business as many sex workers were always prevented from going out at night to work unless they were meeting regular clients.
According to Petersen, criminalisation of the sex business had drove sex workers underground where they were vulnerable to “gangsters and pimps”.
Western Cape MEC Health official Nomafrench Mbombo said that the illegality of sex work in South Africa “does have a huge impact” on sex workers’ ability to access health services:
“We are not condoning the issues of sex working but we are saying that they are already here,” she said. “There is no social distancing in sex work”, said Mbombo, so vaccines “must be brought to them in order to protect them and their clients,” she added.
Meanwhile, SWEAT advocacy officer, Zandile Mbabaza said sex workers were still stigmatized adding that the leadership had handed over a memorandum of demands to police authorities in effort to have its members protected.
The Tuesday momentous march was supported by four organizations including Sisonke Gender Justice, Triangle Project, Pink Drive and the Asijiki Coalition.
