Prostitution in South Africa is illegal for both buying and selling sex, as well as related activities such as brothel keeping and

pimping Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

. However, it remains widespread. Law enforcement is poor. In 2013 the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT) estimated that there were between 121,000 and 167,000 prostitutes in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

, child prostitution (including sex tourism) and human trafficking are problems in the country.

Legal and regulatory framework

The

Immorality Act, 1927 The Immorality Act, 1927 (Act No. 5 of 1927) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa that prohibited extramarital sex between white people and people of other races. In its original form it only prohibited sex between a white person and a bl ...

prohibited extramarital sex between "Europeans" and "natives". This was redefined by the Immorality Amendment Act, 1950 as illicit carnal intercourse between "Europeans" and "non-Europeans", The

Immorality Act, 1957 The Sexual Offences Act, 1957 (Act No. 23 of 1957, originally the Immorality Act, 1957) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which, in its current form, prohibits prostitution, brothel-keeping and procuring, and other activities related ...

, later renamed the

Sexual Offences Act, 1957 The Sexual Offences Act, 1957 (Act No. 23 of 1957, originally the Immorality Act, 1957) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which, in its current form, prohibits prostitution, brothel-keeping and procuring, and other activities relat ...

, repealed the 1927 Act (as amended) and introduced new offences for brothel keeping,

and procuring. Interracial sex was now criminalised as unlawful carnal intercourse between "white" and "coloured" people. The Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 criminalised "committing an immoral or indecent act with such other person" and also

soliciting Solicitation is the act of offering, or attempting to purchase, goods and/or services. Legal status may be specific to the time or place where it occurs. The crime of "solicitation to commit a crime" occurs when a person encourages, "solicits, r ...

for the same. Municipal by-laws also contained provisions about prostitution. As part of the repeal of many

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

laws under the government of

P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...

, the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act 1985 repealed the interracial restrictions of the Immorality Acts. The Immorality Amendment Act, 1988 renamed the Immorality Act, 1957 to the

and criminalised the act of prostitution. It also made the provisions of the 1957 Act gender neutral. In 2002, an appeal by brothel keepers and prostitutes in the country's

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

, submitting that the laws on prostitution were in breach of the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, was dismissed. The most recent legislative change was the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007, section 11 which added Section 20(1)(aA) of the SOA, which states that any person who has unlawful carnal intercourse or commits an act of indecency with any other person for reward, is guilty of an offence, effectively criminalising the client as well as the prostitute. In 2017 a report by the

South African Law Reform Commission The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) is a law reform commission which investigates the state of South African law and makes proposals for its reform to Parliament and the provincial legislatures. It is an independent advisory statutory ...

, recommended that the current law be retained (preferred option), or that prostitution should be decriminalised but third party involvement should remain illegal.

Decriminalisation

Decriminalisation has been under active discussion since 2009. Currently the South African Law Reform Commission has four proposals that were submitted for public discussion ranging from criminalisation to decriminalisation. In the run-up to the 2010 Football World Cup, there were calls to decriminalise and regulate prostitution when an estimated 40,000 prostitutes were expected to travel to South Africa for the tournament. In March 2012, the

ANC Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from b ...

came out in favor of decriminalisation, and stated that they will campaign for this to become an

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

policy. It is argued that decriminalisation "would challenge the stigma that surrounds sex workers. It would help secure their human rights and dignity, and make for safer work and living conditions for them." Decriminalising prostitution would limit the power the police have on sex workers and it would stop the police or law enforcers from taking advantage of sex workers. Police enforcement is rigorous and police taking and accepting bribes by the sex workers and their clients is common place. In April 2013, the Commission for Gender Equality also stated its support for decriminalization. They argued that current laws violate sections of the constitution, and that sex workers would be better protected if the law is changed. Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT), is a group based in South Africa that has been working to decriminalize sex work and eventually legalize it. They also provide health services for sex workers since they can't access them elsewhere. They have launched different programs to bring awareness to problems facing sex workers such as Sex Work Empowerment and Enabling Environment (SWEEP), #SayHerName, advocacy and law reform, and Sisonke movement.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

in its August 2019 report claimed that the sex workers in South Africa faced frequent arbitrary arrests and police profiling. In order to avoid police harassment, workers are forced to work in dangerous areas. Out of the 46 female sex workers interviewed by HRW, most of them had been raped by men purporting to be clients, and almost all had been victims of robbery or serious violence, including being beaten, whipped, and stabbed. Liesl Gerntholtz, acting deputy executive director for programme at Human Rights Watch, said “Sex workers in South Africa face arrest, detention, harassment, and abuse from police, which also deters them from reporting rape or other brutal attacks against them.” In December 2022, the government published a draft

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

that would legalise sex work.

Police violence

There are numerous allegations of members of the

South African Police Service The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in ea ...

committing acts of violence and abuse against sex workers. 70 per cent of sex workers who approached the

Women's Legal Centre ''Women's Legal Centre Trust v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others'' is a 2009 decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. The court dismissed an application for direct access lodged by the Women's Legal Centre, which ...

to report a violation said that they had experienced police abuse in some form, including beating and rape. In an interview, one sex worker in Cape Town said: "The coloured police officer grabbed me, and my clothes came off. Then they pepper sprayed me in my mouth and beat me". Sex workers are often afraid to report police violence to the authorities.

2010 World Cup

There were fears of increased prostitution in connection with the 2010 Football World Cup, some sources estimating that an extra 40,000 sex workers would enter South Africa for the competition. As a result, there were calls for prostitution to be legalised and regulated to help control AIDS and STDs and for the protection of the sex workers. However, this generated considerable opposition and no changes were made to the laws. Despite the fears, there was little evidence of increased prostitution.

HIV

South Africa has one of the world's largest

epidemics. A study by the SA National Aids Council (Sanac) estimated that there was a 60% infection rate, although this varies from area to area, for example, Johannesburg 72%, Durban 54% and Cape Town 40%. The reluctance to use

condoms A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of inte ...

has contributed significantly to the epidemic. However condom distribution by the government AND HIV communication programmes have reduced the rate of new instances.

Child prostitution

Child prostitution is a problem in the country. Whilst there are no reliable figures available, it has been estimated that there are as many as 30,000 children involved. South Africa has become one of the major destinations for underage sex tourism in Africa.

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, Port Elizabeth and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

has become popular destinations for this. Criminal gangs recruit children from poor rural areas and take them to larger cities for

commercial sexual exploitation Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appea ...

Sex trafficking

South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Local criminal gangs dominate child sex trafficking.

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

gangs control the sex industry in several provinces. Thai and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

nationals control the sex trafficking of Asian women.

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n organised crime control trafficking in Cape Town. Hundreds of Women from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, China,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Eastern Europe, Asia, and neighboring African countries are trafficked into South Africa and forced to work as prostitutes. South Africa is listed as a Tier 2 Watch List country by the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) is an agency within the United States Department of State charged with investigating and creating programs to prevent human trafficking both within the United States and internation ...

References

External links

US State Department 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: South AfricaUNESCO. Human Trafficking in South Africa: Root Causes and RecommendationsCape Town promotes sex tourismLiesl Gerntholtz: Sex work and the law in South Africa – hit and miss?ISS/SWEAT submission to SALRC June 2007Women's Net: Decriminalisation of sex work
{{SA law , state=autocollapse Women's rights in South Africa Society of South Africa