SALE!SA - Stand against legal exploitation

       
         Raise your Voice - Say NO

"Prostitution is nothing but the microcosm of a society where exploitation is
a general rule. It is a symbol of the contempt men have for women.
"

- Thomas Sankara

Full Decriminalisation of Prostitution is being promoted, without any robust research on the Prostitution sector – no one has any idea of how many Prostituted Persons are in the sector through so-called “free will” versus those who have been forced, coerced and ultimately Trafficked.

We call on the South African Government and the Media to provide a platform for us to raise these concerns that, if ignored, may translate into the effective muting of a collective voice and will result in the most negative consequential policy decision of the post-1994 era.

INCREASE DEMAND FOR SEXUAL SERVICES

Decriminalising (or Legalising) “sex buyers” and therefore fuelling the Demand for Prostitution – “Sex buyers” are at the root of the System of Prostitution. Sex buying is equivalent to treating people as products for consumption. This is not just.

FREE PASS THOSE WHO EXPLOIT THE VULNERABLE

Decriminalising (or Legalising) pimps, brothels, brothel-keepers, buyers and others who profit financially from the sexual abuse and exploitation of Prostituted Persons.

REMOVING HUMAN DIGNITY

Violating international and domestic human rights law – Prostitution is, in itself, recognised as incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person (UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, ratified by South Africa) and is inherently degrading to women (Constitutional Court of South Africa, O'REGAN J and SACHS J, 2002). The decriminalisation of sex-buyers and pimps will also prevent South Africa to fill its obligations towards the CEDAW Convention, in particular its article 6, and the Palermo Protocol.

SEXIST CULTURE

The normalisation of a sexist culture that promotes commodification and de-valuation of people, mostly marginalised women and girls, who are desperate to survive and provide for their family, by turning them into products of servitude to a system built on Gender Inequality.

INCORRECT TERMINOLOGY

Incorrect terminology and use of wording in the media and public spheres, such as “Sex work”. Sex is not “work” and nor should it be labelled as “work”. Our reasoning and view on this, is in line with International Labour Standards. Furthermore, no International Convention uses the term “Sex work”. Victims are not “Prostitutes” nor “Sex workers”. They are Prostituted Persons. We find these terms problematic and deeply offensive. Sex Trafficking is also not “migration for sex work.” Sex Trafficking includes the abuse of vulnerability, and forcing or coercing a person for the use and exploitation of their body.

SEEING "FORCED" AS "FREE" CHOICE

Dissociating Free Prostitution and Forced Prostitution, as they both serve the interests of pimps and Traffickers.

ABUSE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS

The abuse from Law Enforcement Officials and the South African Police Service employees who harass, exploit, arrest and deport migrant Prostituted Persons, instead of offering support and protection.

LEGALISING SEX ACTS

The SA Government moving towards FULLY legalising Prostitution – as the next step for the Government will then be to regulate the system.