IN THE COMING MONTHS, SOUTH AFRICA’S parliament will vote on a bill that could result in the blanket decriminalisation of its entire sex trade, making it the first African country to do so.
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill — also known as the Jeffery Bill — which proposes removing all criminal penalties relating to prostitution, including pimping and brothel-owning, has been approved at the first stage. Its supporters are keen to highlight the least contentious component of the new law: those selling sex — primarily women and girls — will no longer be arrested, a move I and other feminists have supported for decades.
According to lobbyists for so called “sex workers’ rights”, removing all laws relating to the sex trade will significantly reduce violence and stigmatisation of women involved in prostitution. But, as someone with forensic knowledge of the global sex trade, I can confidently state that they are wrong.
Despite the bill
