Written by: Dr Pearl Kupe
Article source: JOY! Magazine
The issue of legalised prostitution has been a “hot potato” in South Africa for a couple of decades now. Numerous attempts have been made to legalise it, all of which previously failed. For over 15 years, organisations such as Christian Action Network, along with myself, have been advocating against it as individuals and organisations.
History of legalised prostitution
South Africa currently has approximately 150 000 working prostitutes. The Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT), along with another organisation, Sisonke, has been advocating for the legalisation of prostitution for many years. They allege that legalising prostitution will help keep prostitutes safer and protect them from harm.
Previous attempts to legalise the Bill
Many attempts have been made to legalise prostitution. The ANC Women’s League raised the matter at a previous Mangaung meeting. The late Commissioner of Police, Jackie Selebi, also advocated for its legalisation prior to South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 World Cup, claiming it would ease the burden on the police.
The last attempt to legalise it in 2023 provoked close to “2000 sex trade survivors, women’s and human rights advocates, anti-trafficking organisations, frontline service providers, and concerned individuals from over 60 countries to sign an open letter urging the South African government to reject the Bill proposed by the Minister and Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola and John Jeffery, respectively.”
Due to the overwhelming local and international response that pushed against its legalisation, the Bill was not adopted. SWEAT is now challenging the laws that criminalise prostitution in court and has been joined by a few other organisations. In deliberating on this matter, it is hoped that the courts will consider some of the issues I raise below:
Why should legalised prostitution not be allowed?
- It disempowers prostitutes. Prostitutes should, along with the rest of society, be afforded opportunities to find decent jobs that not only protect their safety, but also their mental, physical, and emotional health as well as their dignity.
- Associated health risks: These include physical injuries and infections as a result of assaults, STDs and HIV/Aids, unwanted pregnancy and miscarriage, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and infertility.
- Psychological trauma: Many experience deep trauma as a result of the abuse and degradation involved. They often have to disassociate themselves from the painful realities through processes such as distancing, disengagement, dissociation, and disembodiment. Former prostitutes have described how they had to separate their ‘real’ selves from the selves involved in prostitution.
- South Africa has pledged to eradicate violence against women. It is a signatory to many local, regional, and international agreements such as the SADC Protocol on Gender, and CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), which advocate for the protection and dignity of women. Legalising prostitution will automatically erode those rights which are entrenched in the South African Constitution.
- It increases trafficking. Many nations that legalised prostitution have since backtracked and criminalised it again, citing an alarming increase and escalation in sex trafficking. Trafficking is currently one of the biggest global concerns. It is violence-related and associated with drugs and alcohol. Prostitution and illicit drug usage go hand in hand, as most prostitutes turn to drugs and/or alcohol as a means of desensitisation and coping with the traumatic demands of the trade.
- Reversal of legalised prostitution. The governments of Iceland, Germany, and Norway, as well as local authorities in the Netherlands (notably Amsterdam), have stated that the intended positive goals of legislation were not achieved. In many instances, legislation has had an adverse impact in the zones, cities, and states that decriminalised, legalised, or attempted to regulate prostitution. Since reversing the legislation, trafficking cases in Sweden reduced from 15,000–17,000 cases to between 200–400 cases annually.
- South Africa would become a prime sex tourism destination. South Africa already does well in tourism, with Cape Town cited as the number one tourist destination in the world. With legalised prostitution, the type of tourism would change drastically and leave the door wide open for pimps, sex traffickers, and other criminal offenders to flood the nation and increase already alarming crime statistics.
- Government profit from exploitation. The government would benefit financially from the sexual exploitation of largely disadvantaged and marginalised girls and women.
The experience and view of former and current prostitutes
The truth is that most women involved in prostitution would like to get out of it. In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries, 73 percent reported that they had been physically assaulted, 62 percent had been raped, and 92 percent stated that they would leave prostitution immediately if they were able to. As it has been said, “The reality is that no woman wants to have sex with five, 10, 15, 20 or more men a day, every day.”
The real beneficiaries
Who are the real beneficiaries of the globalised sex industry? When prostitution is legalised, the state and other parties, including private investors, stand to benefit most financially.
It was noted in the case of Victoria, Australia – home to the world’s first brothel to be listed on a stock market – that governments are the parties who stand to gain the most, directly or indirectly, from brothel licensing fees, taxation, and sex tourism. State-approved prostitution is big business for governments, and many other industries (alcohol, drugs, health, etc.) also stand to benefit. Sisonke and SWEAT themselves also benefit through sponsorships.
Way forward
We urge the judiciary to take all the above-mentioned factors into account in deliberating over a matter that can have a tremendously devastating and debilitating impact on the nation and future generations.
Are prostitutes entitled to work for a living? Absolutely! But that work must be decent and align with the ILO (International Labour Organisation) standards of decent work. The answer lies in locating decent work for prostitutes and equipping and skilling them for such work, not in legalising prostitution.
This article is featured in the October issue of JOY! Magazine. Read a digital version of this magazine here: joygifts.co.za
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Date published: 22/09/2025
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork adapted from www.freepik.com
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