Cape Town – For many sex workers working the streets of Cape Town, an extended curfew either results in them not making enough money to feed themselves or being harassed by the police.
Communications officer for Sisonke National Sex Workers Movement, Yonela Sinqu, said the ramifications of the Covid-19 regulations have created havoc for sex workers working the streets and in brothels.
“Sex workers saw a huge shrink in their clientele. Level 5 of the pandemic was the worst as some sex workers could no longer afford accommodation in brothels, leaving them homeless. The most fortunate migrated to online platforms,” said Sinqu.
She explained that the fluctuation of the national curfew was the biggest challenge affecting the operational hours and productivity of sex workers, resulting in them making far less money.
Since the start of the pandemic, another challenge faced by sex workers has been the alleged harassment by the police and law enforcement officials.
“Law enforcement has taken advantage of the situation by charging sex workers hefty fines for loitering or by demanding large sums of money from them in order to avoid imprisonment. Those who are often unable to live up to these bribes are raped or assaulted.”
The closing of the borders also poses additional challenges for sex workers as international clients make up a large amount of their revenue stream.
Lungile Matane, who has been a sex worker for nearly six years, said that level 4 and 5 lockdown was the hardest time for her to work as many of her clients had lost their jobs.
“To be honest no one feels safe from the virus. Luckily for me, I am a sex worker that works online so I am not at a high risk, but as for my brothers and sisters on the street, it is extremely dangerous working without PPE as our work is heavily reliant on physical contact.”
Matane stated that sex workers were not seeking sympathy from the public as they were not ashamed about the work they do to pay their bills. Their only plea was for the government to decriminalise sex work and for the general public to not discriminate or stigmatise them.
Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) advocacy and communications officer Megan Lessing stated that prior to the pandemic, the systemic challenges South African sex workers faced daily included high levels of violence by clients and the police, stigmatisation from communities, and obstacles in accessing healthcare and justice.
“Now, sex workers face a different and additional challenge. Not able to adequately provide for themselves or their children and dependants. However, due to sex work still being criminalised in South Africa, it is unlikely that sex workers will ever receive any sort of governmental assistance,” she said.
Lessing explained that because of the continued emphasis on physical distancing, consistent opportunities to do sex work seems improbable for a very long time. This means a lot of uncertainty in the sex work industry.
“Right now online platforms seem to be the only alternatives for sex workers to earn money consistently, but it also comes with its own challenges and requirements such as reliable internet connection, privacy, social media skills. Many sex workers struggle to make that transition.”
She stressed that sex workers were seen as “easy targets” by police.
She explained that it was difficult to prove that someone has had sex for money, so the police often target sex workers under by-laws banning “loitering” and “public nuisance”.
Many sex workers in the country report that they have been harassed, robbed, assaulted or raped by police.