The Business of Sex Work is a new health and safety guide for clients of sex workers.
Sonke Gender Justice, with Sisonke Sex Worker Movement, the Sex Worker Education & Advocacy Task force (SWEAT) and the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work, launched the booklet this week, in reaction to the harms suffered by sex workers and their clients.
The 28-page booklet has the “unwritten rules of sex work”, that include: common terminology used in the sex work context; how to negotiate respectfully with a sex worker; and things to be mindful of before - and during - sex with a sexworker.
The booklet emphasises the importance of practising safe sex, and has a section on sexual health, how to
properly use a condom, as well as information about sexually transmitted infections.
Zia Wasserman, a Sonke Gender Justice research consultant, said: “In effect, criminalisation makes sex work unsafe: sex workers are publicly and personally stigmatised, and they routinely experience systemic abuse and violence - from the police, service providers, their partners, and clients.
“Meanwhile, clients fear arrest and are forced to seek out sex workers and their services in secret.”
According to the organisation, there are an estimated 150 000 sex workers in South Africa.
“Clients are a decidedly silent sector of the population,” said Wasserman.
“Therefore it is crucial to provide them with the information contained within the booklet, as they may not have safe spaces where they can access such information otherwise.”
Ruvimbo Tenga, a sex work activist, assisted the organisation as a “gatekeeper” to the sex work world, and helped it connect with sex workers to create the booklet.
The booklet is available to download for free online from www.genderjustice.org.za/publication/health-safety-guide-clients-sex-workers/.
“We are (also) planning for the booklet to be distributed to clients through Sonke’s #SafeRide Campaign, which targets the taxi industry,
and Sisonke’s provincial engagements,” Wasserman said.
‘‘Thirdly, the booklet will be distributed to near-by brothels, and will be given to sex workers to pass on to their clients.”
‘‘We are also hoping to get the booklet placed onto relevant websites,” she added.