South Africa – 2 June 2025: On International Sex Workers’ Day, sex workers and activists across all nine provinces will take symbolic action at Department of Justice (DOJ) provincial offices to demand accountability and urgency in reviving the long-delayed Decriminalisation Bill.
This action, led by the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work, comes two years after the Department of Justice formally withdrew the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill on 30 May 2023. At the time, Deputy Minister John Jeffery acknowledged the need for urgent reform, committed to consultation with sex workers and stakeholders, and pledged that a revised Bill would be introduced in the new administration.
“The decriminalisation of sex work and the human rights of sex workers remain high on government’s human rights agenda,”
– Deputy Minister John Jeffery, 30 May 2023
Two years later, there has been no revised bill, no roadmap, and no consultation. The new administration has shown no political will to prioritise the process, despite ongoing violence, marginalisation, and criminalisation of sex workers under the current law.
Deputy Minister Nel, similarly at Asijiki and Sisonke events in 2024 committed to the law reform process and consultations with relevant parties.
A Nationwide Decentralised Action
On Monday, 2 June 2025, sex workers and coalition members will gather outside provincial DOJ offices in a coordinated action across all nine provinces. Each group will set up symbolic “People’s Drafting Desks” – mock office spaces inviting the DOJ to resume the work they abandoned in 2023.
These peaceful, creative protests call on the national DOJ leadership to respond via their provincial offices, where our demands will be formally handed over and covered by local and national media.
OUR DEMANDS:
1. Immediate commencement of the Decriminalisation Bill process.
2. A clear, time-framed roadmap to publish a revised bill.
3. Meaningful and public consultation with sex workers and stakeholders as promised by DOJ
.4. Political leadership from the Justice Ministry to prioritise this long-delayed reform.
Contacts:
Constance Mathe
Coordinator, Asijiki Coalition
coordinator@asijiki.org.za / +27780042241
Megan Lessing
Media & Advocacy Coordinator, SWEAT
meganl@sweat.org.za / +27813067812
Yonela Sinqu
Communications Officer, Sisonke National Movement
communication@sisonke.org.za / +27660666441
Asijiki we support you guys
As s/we we are sick and tired of empty promises Deputy Minister we promise us about decriminalization of sex workers