By Dianne Massawe, Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre Earlier this week (on Tuesday the 9th October 2012) five women appearing at the Germiston Court since March 2011 on charges of prostitution in terms of the Sexual Offences Act were found not guilty. Sex work in South Africa is currently criminalised under the Sexual Offences Act of 1957 and the Criminal Law…
By Jenna Praschma, SWEAT Acting Advocacy Manager A recent Eyewitness News (EWN) article online, entitled "CT Cops raid 'human trafficking' den," has once again highlighted the misconceptions surrounding sex work and the damage that such inaccurate reporting can cause to related human rights issues. The raid on a Cape Town brothel last week - the result of a Hawks 'sting'…
More than 60 police officers took part in a human rights training session with sex workers and advocacy organisations in Cape Town yesterday. Police officers from Bellville, Parow and Goodwood police stations took part in the three-hour workshop, together with the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), Sisonke - the only national movement of sex workers, Triangle Project, Gender…
The deputy minister of police says that sex work must be recognized so it can be professionalized and police brutality against sex workers can be eradicated. Speaking at the National Sex Work Symposium in Johannesburg yesterday (23 August 2012), Deputy Minister of Police, Makhotso "Maggie" Sotyu, said the sex work sector should be 'handled with dignity' - and that the…
JOHANNESBURG, 23 August 2012—Last night saw the presentation of the South African National AIDS Council’s (SANAC)’s National Sex Worker Sector Plan at a cocktail event held in Johannesburg. The sex worker plan is the first plan to provide a coordinated and multi-sectoral response to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for sex workers in South Africa with sex workers at…
WHAT National Sex Workers' Symposium: Best practices for HIV prevention, care and treatment for sex workers in South Africa WHEN Wednesday 22 August & Thursday 23 August 2012 WHERE Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre, View Point Road, Boksburg WHO Policy makers, researchers, public health professionals, development organisations, the NGO sector, activists and sex workers KEY EVENTS on Wednesday, 22 August…
