Increasing police harassment, discrimination and failure by the government to decriminalise sex work are some of the challenges facing sex workers in Limpopo.
The challenges were laid bare during the Sex Workers Dialogue held at Bolivia Lodge in Polokwane on Monday, where deputy social development minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu and MEC Nkakareng Rakgoale had a dialogue with a group of sex workers.
A Polokwane woman who has been a sex worker for 10 years, said she had been arrested earlier this year and forced to walk the streets half naked.
“I was arrested when I was walking out a client in January and at the time I was only wearing lingerie. It was on a Friday, and they [police] refused to allow me to dress properly and I couldn’t even access my medical treatment,” she said.
The woman said she was released the following Monday and had become a laughing stock on the street.
“The police didn’t even press charges against me. They told me on Monday that I’m free and I can go home. I had to walk in town in lingerie and everyone was laughing at me,” she said
A Lesotho national who arrived in the country in 2015, and immediately joined the streets, also shared her horrible experience at the hands of the cops.
“I work in Polokwane and I get harassed by the police, who would charge me for loitering. Last year I was arrested and spent the whole weekend behind bars. They denied me access to my phone when I told them that I had left my children at home and I need to tell them that I’m fine,” she said.
More than 100 sex workers gathered at Bolivia Lodge called on the government to decriminalise the sector.
The SAPS’s Col Matilda Kekana told the workers to report any abuse committed by the police.
“We say no to abuse and harassment of sex workers by police officers. I’m a woman and a mother,” said Kekana.
Another worker took a swipe at social workers who had threatened to take custody of her two children.
“The department must investigate some of the social workers because I had to fight to keep my babies. This after they believed a one-sided story from the father of my children, who lied to them that I take drugs and neglect the children,” she said.
Another worker added that police would harass her by demanding money and later concoct frivolous charges against her.
“We are being charged for loitering and they later withdraw the charges because they want to make our lives difficult,” she said.
Bogopane-Zulu announced that cabinet had given a mandate to decriminalise sex workers.
“The cabinet has recently announced that sex workers should be legalised so you can do your job freely without any harassment. I’m number one fan of advocating for the legalisation of the sector because you are not stealing from anyone,” she said.
