Tempers flared yesterday between participants in the debate held to discuss the decriminalising of sex work. Speaking at the SexWork debate yesterday in Rosebank, Johannesburg, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng charged that the panelists on the debate were not sex workers and that they were mostly white.
The panelists included Madri Bruwer, who runs an organisation that reaches out to sex workers in Cape Town. Bruwer had earlier said sex work was a "forced profession". There are five white people on that panel, where are the sex workers?
We cannot continue to portray black women as victims. These women have agency, they are not powerless or voiceless. Major Margaret Stafford, national coordinator for the Salvation Army, took exception to Mofokeng's comment and said she would not apologise for being white. The legalisation of sex work has been a bone of contention argued by various organisations including religious, human and gender rights activists.
Human rights activist Nosipho Vadima said diversion programmes from sex work were not sustainable. We had a programme where women were enrolling for school and getting excellent grades.
We have requestedfor [their] expungements, nothing has been done. Sometimes they drive and abduct the men [clients] to a derelict area, demanding cash payment of up to R for their silence, especially if the men have a wedding ring on.
