(The data and quotes below derive from project documents, focus groups with 30 sex workers, and interviews with six Sisonke staff members undertaken by the author. The opinions presented below are those of the research participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DevAid.)
There are an estimated 153 000 sex workers in South Africa. Most (70%) are street-based. The average age of debut is 24 years, and the average time in the industry is 12 years. The national HIV prevalence rate among sex workers is 59.6% (ranging from 71.8% in Johannesburg to 39.7% in Cape Town). Sex work is an important source of income for many women and their families. On average, a female sex worker has four dependents.
Sex workers in South Africa experience chronic human rights violations, stigma, and multiple types of systemic violence, including sexual and gender-based violence (i.e., increased vulnerability to sexual assault, rape and human trafficking); inter-personal violence; behavioral violence (i.e., attacks and abuse from clients, the police, and members of the public); and structural violence (i.e., inequality before the law, discrimination, isolation, economic deprivation, and difficulty accessing healthcare, the criminal justice system, financial institutions, and education).
Sex workers argue that these violations are exacerbated by criminalization and the consequent absence of legal remedy. The Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957 criminalized sex work, while the Criminal (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 criminalized the “buyers” of sex.
The relationship between sex workers and some police officers is problematic. Studies show that sex workers, who are arrested under bylaws for “loitering” and “public nuisance”, are subject to harassment, unlawful detention, abuse, and violence. Sex workers report being denied medication and calls to arrange childcare during unlawful detentions. The average time spent in police custody after each arrest is 40 hours. A survey of 2100 sex workers in South Africa estimated that 80% of sex workers have experienced police violence. A qualitative study documented cases of violence, torture, intimidation, rape, sexual assault, bribery, corruption, and unlawful arrests and detention. The same study found that sex workers who report crimes to the police are treated with derision. Sex workers’ accounts of the torture and sexual assault at the hands of police are harrowing and include being shot, beaten and left for dead, repeatedly raped, and receiving electric shocks.
Sisonke (meaning ‘we are together’) National Sex Worker Movement was established “by sex workers for sex workers” to respond to these violations and enable sex workers to access their human rights (e.g., equality before the law); advocate for the “decriminalization of consensual transactional sex between adults”; unite sex workers; and improve sex worker’s living and working conditions.
Sisonke has an estimated 518 members. To become a member, one must “self-identify as a sex worker”. Membership is open “to all sex workers’ regardless of their area of work, ethnicity or sexual orientation”. Sisonke also represents sex workers who prefer to remain anonymous, fearing discrimination and hostility.
Sisonke has a track record of achievements including:
- Improved relationships between sex workers and police officers.
- Successfully challenging the dominant narrative of the global North in which women from the global South are perceived as inherently vulnerable perpetual victims.
- Reducing the stigma associated with sex work.
- Working with the South African National Aids Council (SANAC), including co-chairing the working group that developed the National Sex Worker HIV Plan 2016 to 2019 and the National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs 2017 to 2022, which contributed to the roll-out of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and test-and-treat medication for sex workers.
- Identifying a group of exploited adolescent girls and cooperating with the police to uncover and successfully prosecute one of South Africa’s largest child sex trafficking cases.
In 2020, Global Affairs Canada awarded a grant to Sisonke through the Women’s Voice and Leadership Program for the implementation of a project that aimed to develop national solidarity among sex workers; reduce the stigma associated with sex work; influence policy and legislation; promote sex workers’ access to human rights; and capacitate sex workers.
Project implementation was effective. Sisonke increased its membership through outreach to urban and rural areas reaching “sex workers who had never been reached before”. Autonomy and leadership skills were built through ‘rights-based self-development’ training, and steering committees were strengthened.
Sisonke has influenced policy and legislation through participation in provincial AIDS Council meetings and SANAC Civil Society Forums; by developing guidelines for the establishment of these forums; by submitting a resolution on decriminalization to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature; by having their submission incorporated into South Africa’s Elimination of Discrimination Against Women shadow report; by contributing at a sex work sector dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Social Development; and by engaging the Minister of Justice.
Sensitization workshops were conducted with external stakeholders including traditional and religious leaders, health officials, civil society organizations, local municipalities, and the police. The workshops improved the treatment of, and service delivery to, sex workers. For example, the training that Sisonke provided to “police officers is now being incorporated into the curriculum at the police training academy”; and sex workers were referred to Sisonke by a nurse at a local clinic, suggesting that the sensitization workshops were effective.
There is early evidence of the project’s impact. In December 2022, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill was circulated for public comment which, if passed, will decriminalize adult sexual services.
Sex workers have reported the following changes:
- Receiving better treatment and services from police and healthcare facilities.
- Increased rights awareness and the ability to access rights.
- Increased agency and improved ability to assert and protect themselves when interacting with clients.
- Increased self-acceptance and self-esteem.
- Improved inter-personal relationships, improved social skills, and enhanced emotional self-regulation capacity.
- Sisonke provides important social support. Sex workers emphasized the value of being part of a community and the social, psychological, and practical support they receive as members of Sisonke.
- Enhanced conflict resolution skills.
- Sex workers emphasized the value of the counseling they received during workshops.
- Improved financial management and business-related skills. There is increased interest in opportunities for alternative or diverse income generation among Sisonke members.
