Parliament amended the Sexual Offences Act in 2007 to criminalise the buying of sex, which recognized the responsibility of those who buy sex for the harms they cause by exploiting those who are vulnerable.
Cabinet recognised the need to address this concern and it asked the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) to undertake research, call for public comments and make proposals. The purpose was to find alternative policy and legislative responses that might regulate, prevent, deter or reduce prostitutionâ in the South African context of high levels of gender based violence, poverty and unemployment
The related issues of Child Prostitution and the Trafficking in Persons have been addressed through appropriate legislation. The Commission completed its Report in 2015 and submitted it to Cabinet. Cabinet referred it back to the Commission and asked them to look into partial criminalisation. After further work the Commission submitted their Final Report in 2017. This report included two options:
1.Partial decriminalisation
2.Total criminalisation or prohibition (the present law) with the option of diversion
Since then there has been no progress while women, girls and LGBTi persons in the patriarchal system of prostitution continue to be harmed and exploited. The Covid19 pandemic has aggravated their situation.
âThe decision on what to do about the system of prostitution is a wedge issue that divides society and we are calling on all political parties to unite in responding to the marginalisation of the vulnerable people.
âWe now ask members of parliament to consider an amendment that would decriminalize ONLY those who sell sex and support them to have the option to exit and be re-integrated into society. The bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament later this year. This legal framework, known as the Equality Model Law or Nordic Law is a form of partial decriminalization. It was pioneered in Sweden in 1999 as part of a number of laws aimed at ending gender-based violence,â explains Madlala-Routledge
The abolitionist Equality model would replace the current irrational prohibitionist law with a rational coherent law and policy that would protect those who are exploited in the system of prostitution and deter new entry. The Equality Model Law decriminalises ONLY those that directly sell sex, while keeping legal prohibitions against sex buying, pimping, and brothel owning. It funds and implements comprehensive social services, including access to health services, education and job training for people in prostitution.
The Equality model law has been adopted by a growing number of countries, including Norway(2009), Iceland (2009), Canada (2014), Northern Ireland (2015), France (2016), Ireland (2017) and Israel (2018). Other countries and states in the USA are also considering it.
The case for why South Africa should not legalise the sex trade but rather adopt a demand focused legal framework, the Equality Model Law, comes under discussion on 4th May 2021 in a panel discussion by several human rights activists who have worked tirelessly to end human trafficking, sex trafficking and prostitution.
The webinar, organised by South African human rights advocacy NGO, Embrace Dignity, will discuss the merits of the Equality Model Law ahead of a bill on adult prostitution which is expected to be tabled in Parliament later this year.
The panel of world renowned speakers includes survivors of the sex trade, womenâs rights activists and international activists who work to end sex trafficking and sex exploitation.
Spanning the United States, France and South Africa, they will discuss a range of topics including the reality of prostitution and itâs inherent violence, the merits of the Equality Law Model, what it will look like in South Africa and lessons from France, where in April 2016, the French National Assembly historically and overwhelmingly passed the Equality Model into law.
The âEquality Modelâ exempts those who sell sex from criminal liability â and affords them services â while penalising the buyers of sexual acts including brothel owners and pimps â the pillars of the multi-billion dollar sex trade.
Speakers include:
Grizelda Grootboom a Survivor of Sex Trafficking
Raised in an orphanage in Cape Town, where she lost her closest friend to death by stoning after having been raped, and was herself gang-raped at the age of nine by teenagers in her township, Grizelda Grootboom was sold to sex traffickers when she was 18 years old. A survivor who escaped, Ms. Grootboom today is an activist helping other trafficking victims. In her memoir, Exit!, she reveals the often misunderstood world of prostitution to help raise awareness about its harms and the horrors of sex trafficking.
Taina Bien-Aime is the executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking In Women https://catwinternational.org/, was formerly executive director of Equality Now, an international organisation dedicated to the promotion of the rights of women and girls.
Jonathan Machler is the executive director of the Coalition of The Abolition of Prostitution (CAP International) http://www.cap-international.o… . Based in France, Machler has worked in development and advocacy including on the ground in Palestine, India and Benin, since 2012.
Nozizwe Madlala Routledge is the founder of Embrace Dignity, a South African feminist and abolitionist, human rights advocacy NGO. https://embracedignity.org.za/
Since its establishment in 2010, Embrace Dignity has supported and advocated for the Equality Law. Working with the law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, it has drafted a bill that will be appropriate for the South African conditions and would be in line with the Constitution and international legal commitments.
Madlala-Routledge will present this proposed bill on adult prostitution at the webinar.
