Cape Town - Organisations representing sex workers in South Africa plan to march on Tuesday in support of Claremont domestic worker Cynthia Joni, who was assaulted last October allegedly by Kenilworth resident Tim Osrin when he claimed he “thought she was a prostitute”.
Osrin will appear in court the same day to face a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm related to the incident, which took place on October 2.
The march, organised by the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) and Sisonke, a movement of sex workers, will end in front of the office of DA councillor Ian Iversen, the Kenilworth ward councillor and sub-council chairman.
Sweat advocacy manager Cherith Sanger said this week that Iversen was the target of the march because of his consistent refusal to meet them to discuss recent incidents in the area, and to address both the safety of sex workers and the concerns of local residents.
Iversen has told the organisation he would not meet a drug dealer, “so why would I meet with a prostitute”?
“Mr Iversen has shown no interest in engaging with us to address issues of residents and sex workers, even after the murder of a sex worker in his ward,” Sanger told Weekend Argus.
The protest, aimed at showing solidarity with Joni and at “raising our voices against stigma, discrimination and violence”, will start at 9am on Tuesday outside the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court, where Osrin is expected to appear and either reach a plea bargain or proceed with the trial.
“Sex workers and activists will gather and, at noon, we will march to Ian Iversen’s office, about a 10-minute walk from the court,” Sanger said.
Sweat got involved following a number of incidents in Kenilworth over the past year, including the assault on Joni. Last August, the body of sex worker Chenise Gordon, known as “Kleintjie”, 19, was found in Oak Avenue.
After the Joni incident, a 32-year-old Kenilworth sex worker also laid a charge of assault against Osrin.
She said Osrin had approached her while he was cycling, then proceeded to beat and kick her, knocking a tooth out of her mouth.
Sweat also dealt with a number of complaints from Kenilworth residents about sex workers loitering and incidents of alleged bad behaviour in their neighbourhood.
“It is a very hostile environment at the moment, and there is a real need for engagement,” Sanger said.
However, according to Sanger, Iversen refused at least two requests last year for a meeting with Sweat and other concerned organisations. She said Iversen had “expressed very heavy anti-sex work opinions”.
On Thursday last week Sweat again wrote to Iversen seeking a meeting, spelling out that they wanted to “find ways of addressing the concerns of the Kenilworth residents as well as talk through the importance of the protection of the human rights of sex workers that work in the area”.
Iversen replied: “I thought that the last e-mail I sent to your organisation… made my point clear. Prostitution is still illegal in South Africa and I am not going to assist you with an illegal activity.
“I am going to do everything in my power to rid the area of prostitutes who are responsible for bringing down the tone of the area. I believe the vast majority of local residents would support me.”
On the issue of the safety of prostitutes, he suggested they rather approach the police.
Sanger accused Iversen of fuelling discrimination against sex workers.
“This is a leader, elected as a ward councillor… with whom we have raised human rights violations in the area. His stance is to remain disengaged because they are involved in illegal activity... despite the fact that there has been a death recently,” she charged.
Asked to comment on Friday, Iversen said Sweat was “free to march … if they are in compliance with the relevant legislation and bylaws”.
He reiterated that he had made clear “my position on the issues they raised”.
While the murder was unfortunate, it was “being dealt with by the South African Police Service”.
Iversen told Weekend Argus that until the legislation which made prostitution legal was changed, sex work remained illegal. This “restricts the level of engagement that councillors may have with an organisation such as Sweat in dealing with anything other than municipal issues”.
Weekend Argus