Sex Work and the Law
There are several different legal views on sex work. They vary from country to country. This fact sheet discusses the four most common legal models and their effects.
Sex Work and Religion
Many people in South Africa are religious. According to data from the 2001 census, around 80% of South Africans call themselves Christians, with smaller numbers of Muslims, Hindus, Jews and people who follow African traditional religions. The link between sex work and religion is therefore important. This fact sheet argues that, although many people view […]
Sex Work and Policing
As a group, sex workers are at high risk of violence and other crimes. Like many other at-risk groups, they are over-policed but under-protected. This fact sheet describes present problems with the policing of sex work and sex workers. It then explains how the situation could improve if sex work was decriminalised.
Sex Work, Migration and Tourism
More and more people are travelling abroad or within their own country to join family, find work or simply go on holiday. The 2011 census shows that South Africa is similar to other parts of the world, with foreign nationals making up 3.3% of the South African population (1.7 million people) and millions of South […]
Sex Work and Labour
Sex workers from all over the world have fought to use the term ‘sex work’ instead of ‘prostitution’ to show clearly that selling sex is a job and should be treated as one, rather than an abstract political or moral issue. In many ways selling sexual services is similar to other services like offering entertainment, […]
Sex Work, Human Trafficking & the Harm of Conflating the Two
The United Nations says human trafficking is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits […]
Sex Work and Human Rights
The South African Constitution and international agreements such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recognise universal human rights for every human being protected by law. In many countries around […]
Sex Work and HIV
Sex workers are often at risk of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). For many people, this means that sex workers are a danger to public health and should be jailed or punished to protect the public. This ignores the fact that everyone is responsible for safer sex – not just sex workers. Many […]
Sex Work and Feminism
Feminism is a political belief system which believes women face many more problems than men in society today. It seeks to change this by creating equal political, economic, cultural and social rights for women. Feminism is linked to sex work because most sex workers are women and clients are almost all men. There is also […]
Drug Use and Sex Work
Sex work and recreational drugs are often linked because they are both illegal in South Africa. This fact sheet argues that most of the harm caused by sex work and drug use comes about because the people involved are stigmatised, discriminated against and criminalised. We believe that government should focus on harm reduction over law […]
Children and Sex Work
In calling for the decriminalisation of sex work, we are talking about the buying and selling of sexual services between consenting adults. No serious supporter of decriminalisation has proposed that buying sex from a child or employing a child to sell sexual services should be decriminalised, even if that child is willing. This fact sheet […]
Routes out of Sex Work
Worldwide, many governments and non-governmental organisations aim to help people leave sex work and do other work. This is often called “exiting”, but here we use the term “routes out of sex work”. These two terms often refer to choices that sex workers make to leave the sex industry. In contrast, “diversion” refers to programmes […]
Decriminalising Sex Work
Various arguments have been put forward as to why sex work should not be considered a crime. Public health evidence, feminist arguments and the importance of removing sexual moralism from public policy decision-making emphasise the social and individual benefits of the decriminalisation of sex work. This Fact Sheet sets out how the decriminalisation of sex work […]
One Man Can randomised control trial in Diepsloot
Sonke’s flagship programme, One Man Can (OMC) campaign, an existing multi-level intervention that engages men to confront harmful aspects of masculinity and to address gender-based violence and HIV & AIDS, with the goal of achieving gender equality, is being adapted for a research trial and implementation in the fast growing peri-urban settlement of Diepsloot, north […]
Bongani Nkala v Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited & Others
There are two possible class action lawsuits being filed by Richard Spoor Attorneys (Spoor), Abrahams Kiewitz Inc (Abrahams), and the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) against the 32 gold mining companies collectively comprising the entire South African gold mining industry. The first class is made up of current and former gold mineworkers with silicosis and the […]
Dust measurement, exceedances and the need for proper monitoring on the South African gold mines
A power-point presentation by Professor Jonny Myers, Director of the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town, titled “Dust measurements, exceedances and the need for proper monitoring on South African gold mines”.
Stop Guns In Domestic Violence!
A national study found that more women (57%) were murdered by their husbands or boyfriends (called intimate femicide) than by strangers or criminals. Firearms, which are often said to be brought into the home to protect loved ones, played a major role in these murders, accounting for 17% of the cases seen. Any woman who lives […]
The epidemiology of silicosis, tuberculosis and HIV in SA gold miners
A power-point presentation by Rodney Ehrlich, an occupational health expert from the University of Cape Town, provides some background on the epidemiology of occupational lung diseases, primarily silicosis and tuberculosis, including HIV, in South African gold miners.
Nkala and others v Harmony Gold and others: Amici intervention of Sonke Gender Justice and the Treatment Action Campaign
A presentation by Section 27 (representing Sonke and TAC in the amici curiae application), showing that gold mining corporations need to be accountable for miners contracting silicosis.
Prohibiting Corporal Punishment Does Not Mean Criminalising Parents
A fact sheet to counter the claim that parents will be criminalised.
Most Cultures Have Claimed That Corporal Punishment of Children is Part of Their Culture
A fact sheet to counter cultural justifications of corporal punishment.
Despite a Legal Ban, Corporal Punishment is Still Widely Practiced in South African Schools
A fact sheet to counter claims that prohibition in schools has led to indiscipline.
The Negative Impacts of Corporal Punishment
A fact sheet to counter claims that corporal punishment does no harm.
Does Sparing the Rod Really Spoil the Child?
A fact sheet to address religious justifications of corporal punishment.
