Sisonke says sex workers prefer the streets – HERE’S WHY:
Sisonke says each day they are awoken to news of either a sex worker or a body that has been found in the 'industry'
Sisonke, a national sex workers movement in South Africa, says the streets are becoming an even more unsafe working environment for sex workers.
SISONKE WORRIED ABOUT SEX WORKERS IN THE STREETS
This harsh reality follows the grim discovery of bodies of women reported to be sex workers at a panel beating shop in Johannesburg on Sunday, 9 October.
“It is an infuriating, yet grim and dark day to Sisonke National Sex Workers Movement in South Africa at the discovery of six bodies at a Johannesburg central panel beating shop.”
Sisonke
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Sisonke says the discovery of these bodies come after three cases of missing person have been opened at John Voster and Sophiatown police stations between July and October 2022. Although the bodies have not been identified, the organisation claims a number of sex workers working in the area have confirmed that a number of women working in that area have been going missing.
Sisonke National Coordinator, Kholi Buthelezi said. “At this stage, we hope that the reported three are not among the six bodies found. We remain hopeful that our three are out there somewhere, but alive. God forbid that they are among the six”.
Buthelezi added that for more than 20 years they have been calling for the decriminalisation of sex work, to enable sex workers a safer working environment, but all of that has fallen on deaf ears.
Buthelezi
“Each day we are awoken to news of either a missing person or a body which has been found. To us these are not just bodies but another family being deprived of a life and income.”
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BROTHELS NOT AN OPTION FOR SEX WORKERS
Why the streets, Buthelezi responded that many of their members find it more convenient to be working on the streets, rather than a brothel where harassment from police officials is rife.
“However, safety on the street is not always guaranteed. It is becoming a norm for people to pose as clients, choose a service provider only to murder them. Often these cases go unreported who work in these conditions also fear for their lives- instead, they either choose a different working spot while hoping and praying for a safe return home,” she lamented.
Civil Society National Sex Work Sector Leader, Katlego Resebitse added: “In our monthly meetups (Creative Spaces) and workshops we hold with our members, we often highlight issues of safety, reporting cases of harassment, police brutality and how to go about opening a case at police stations through the assistance of our human rights defenders. We are aware of numerous cases, not only in Johannesburg of missing persons. It saddens us to know that a number of them have been lost at the hands of someone posing as a client. We urgently calling for the full decriminalisation of sex work to put an end in such things”.
PERSONAL ACCOUNT FROM A LADY OF THE NIGHT
Janet 36: “The streets are becoming the most unsafe place to work in because you’re never sure whatever you’ll be returning after a client picks you up. We remain on the streets because we don’t have to pay brothel owners to rent even when we don’t make money. However, we remain in constant fear as the type of ‘clients’ we find are a lot more dangerous and the chance of returning unharmed are becoming a lot less.”
In conclusion, the organisation also revealed that between 2017 and 2019 the Sex Workers Education Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) together with Sisonke, recorded more than 50 slain sex workers on the #SayHerName report. Others were either never reported or unidentified.
“The numbers are on a rapid rise with more cases of GBV,” Buthelezi stressed.
