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GroundUp reports that sex workers are calling for a moratorium on arrests and fines until politicians finalise the redraft of a bill to decriminalise sex work.
This comes nearly two years after the bill was withdrawn and sent back to be revised. In 2022, former Deputy Minister of Justice John Jeffery held consultations on decriminalisation. It followed many years of advocacy by sex workers and activist organisations. The former Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola acknowledged that, “criminalising sex work has not stopped the selling or buying of sex, nor has it been effective. If anything, it has led to higher levels of violence against sex workers.” But the state’s legal advisors flagged serious shortfalls with the bill, raising concerns that it “may not pass constitutional muster if it does not also provide for the regulation of sex work”. The bill was sent back to the justice department in mid-2023. In October 2024 the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) launched court action against the justice department, challenging the criminalisation of sex work. Now sex workers and activists are demanding the department urgently prioritise the “long-delayed” bill. Despite the commitments from the Department of Justice, and consultations for the redraft bill underway, arrests and fines of sex workers are on the rise, according to SWEAT. Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for Cape Town Law Enforcement, said 780 sex workers have been arrested or fined so far in 2025. Compared to last year’s total of 575, and 544 in 2023.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Liezl Human at GroundUp
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