The activists point out that international studies have revealed that the policy of legalizing prostitution failed wherever it was implemented.
“Instead of protecting the human rights and dignity of women caught up in the sex trade, legalized prostitution had the exact opposite effect,” they say, adding: “Legal adult prostitution increases child prostitution. Research indicates that the links between prostitution and organized crime are never severed, regardless of the legal status of the sex industry.”
The African branch of Catholic activists says that if approved, government support for legal prostitution will undermine the human rights of people caught up in the sex trade, most of whom are women.
Right now, South Africa is already experiencing high rates of sexual exploitation and abuse of women and children, campaigners say, adding: “Domestic abuse of women and children is also at intolerably high rates. Given these appalling facts in the context of rising unemployment rates and endemic poverty, legal prostitution becomes illogical, unsustainable and unsustainable in South Africa.”
The South African government opened the Sex Work Amendment Bill for public participation in December last year.
Explaining the Bill, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ronald Lamola, reportedly noted that the criminalization of sex work in South Africa was contributing to sexual and gender-based violence, “as it leaves sex workers unprotected by law, unable to exercise their rights as citizens and open to abuse in general, particularly when approach state facilities for assistance.”
The Minister emphasized that criminalizing the sexual practice of adults has not been able to stop “the sale or purchase of sex, nor has it been effective.”
“If anything, (criminalization) has led to higher levels of violence against sex workers. Furthermore, criminalization predominantly affects women, with the sex worker often being confronted by law enforcement, but not the male client. The National Public Ministry has also indicated a very low percentage of cases or prosecutions for this type of transgression,” she said.
However, according to CitizenGo Africa members, the South African Department of Justice had chosen to ignore the recommendations in the Final Report on Prostitution Law Reform from the country’s Law Reform Commission.
“The SALRC conducted a comprehensive 9-year investigation into prostitution, commissioned by the same Department of Justice, and warned against legalizing prostitution due to high rates of gender-based violence, poverty, and unemployment,” activists say. .
