Protest after arrest of 57 sex workers

Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task force (Sweat) demonstrated outside the offices of the SA Human Rights Commission demanding that it investigates the arrest and death of Robyn Montsumi while in police custody in April. Picture Courtney Africa/African News Agency (ANA)

Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task force (Sweat) demonstrated outside the offices of the SA Human Rights Commission demanding that it investigates the arrest and death of Robyn Montsumi while in police custody in April. Picture Courtney Africa/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Dec 10, 2020

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Cape Town - The Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task force (Sweat) has called on Police Minister Bheki Cele to intervene in the alleged abuse of power by police after 57 workers were arrested across the country in the past week.

According to Sweat, none of the sex workers was officially charged with anything related to sex work, however 28 migrant sex workers were charged under the Immigration Act and appeared in courts in Germiston, Polokwane and Pretoria on Tuesday.

This as Sweat yesterday marched to the Cape Town office of the SA Human Rights Commission for the decriminalisation of sex work, and demanded answers about the investigation into the death of sex worker Robyn Montsumi while detained at Mowbray police station in April.

Speaking at the protest, Constance Mathe of the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation for Sex Work in South Africa said sex workers had suffered in many different ways throughout the year.

“Sex workers are totally excluded as citizens of South Africa and the criminalisation law has highlighted itself that it doesn’t work with sex workers, because during the time of the lockdown sex workers were excluded in the breakdown of the provident fund by government,” she said.

A sex worker who asked not to be named said they were battling to cope as they were not recognised as working citizens.

“Sex work is work – we are working citizens too, we vote. Next year we will be voting and we will not be excluded, now why doesn’t the government decriminalise sex work? During lockdown we had many challenges, the police and law enforcement were taking advantage, because they know that sex work is not legalised. Sometimes they would chase us away, and that is hard, some of us have children and we are breadwinners at home,” she said.

Sweat said sex workers were experiencing targeting, profiling, extortion, violence, and human rights violations at the hands of police.

Cele encouraged sex workers to open cases against police who were allegedly targeting them, so these could be investigated.

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Cape Times

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