Survivors of the system of prostitution from KZN, Gauteng, Western Cape and Eastern Cape have launched an urgent appeal to the South African government. “We call on our government to listen to the voices of those who have direct experience of the harms of the sex trade,” they collectively assert.
“We do not want to see what happened to us become the reality of others. We will do all in our power to stop the total decriminalisation of the sex trade in South Africa,” say the survivors.
Mickey Meji of the Cape Town community of Makhaza, Khayelitsha is one of a rapidly growing number of South African survivors of the system of prostitution who courageously made the choice to permanently exit the system. She lobbies for others to add their voice in challenging the South African government to hold exploiters accountable and end the commodification of women and girls.
“Justice demands action and dignity demands courage,” Meji notes. “With more and more survivors joining our ranks, I know that in our lifetime, together we can put a permanent end to the exploitation of countless young women and girls who are trafficked into the inhumane and horribly cruel system of prostitution from which they see no means of escape”.
In recognition of the lobbying efforts of these survivors, Cape Town headquartered non governmental organisation Embrace Dignity is calling on South Africa’s youth leaders as well as women, labour, business, religious NGO leaders and members of parliament to champion the Equality Model Law for ending commercial sexual exploitation and thus contributing to ending violence against women and girls.
“A fundamental truth long recognised by survivors and advocates is that prostitution is not a ‘choice’ freely made but a manifestation of systemic inequality, gender based violence, and exploitation. It is a profound violation of human rights and human dignity, particularly impacting the most vulnerable women and girls”.
Embrace Dignity is a leading voice advocating for the abolition of the system of prostitution and the promotion of exit programmes for prostituted women and girls.This is possible by focusing on ending the demand.
Embrace Dignity is calling for: South African leaders in all areas of influence to publicly endorse the Equality Model – also known as the Sankara Equality Law or the Nordic Model – as the effective and just approach to prostitution in South Africa.
The Equality Law protects exploited persons and targets the demand that fuels the system of prostitution while educating communities about the reality of the sex trade and its harms.
Explains Embrace Dignity Founder and Executive Director Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge: “The system of prostitution is a manifestation of systemic inequality, patriarchy, violence, and exploitation.”
She explains that the Equality Law criminalises those that buy sex (mostly men) as well as those that profit: pimps and brothel keepers. Prostituted people are not criminalised. Support is provided to exit the sex trade, and the public is educated about the oppressive nature of prostitution. The Equality Law provides a rational strategy for the government to address the patriarchal system of prostitution.
Embrace Dignity applauds a 2018 statement by the late Pope Francis who firmly declared that the exploitation of women through the system of prostitution is a “crime against humanity.”
In Youth Month, Embrace Dignity calls on South African leadership to honour the spirit of Ubuntu, which affirms our interconnectedness and shared humanity. In this spirit, we must continue to protect the rights and dignity of all, especially prostituted women who suffer the violence and brutality of sexual exploitation at the hands of sex buyers, pimps, brothel owners and sex traffickers.
Prostitution is the only crime in which female arrests outnumber male arrests, even though men are almost always the perpetrators of this violent crime against vulnerable women and girls.
Comments Madlala-Routledge: “With the official unemployment rate standing at 46,1% in the first quarter of 2025, young people aged 15 to 34 are highly vulnerable to exploitation by the sex trade. This vulnerability faced by our youth is exacerbated by high levels of poverty, gender based violence and gender inequality.”
Embrace Dignity hopes that South African leaders will join forces in support of the Equality Model – which decriminalises those who are exploited while holding buyers and exploiters accountable – the result could be a transformative, rights-based approach that truly prioritises the safety, dignity, and freedom of women. The Equality law would promote gender equality and undermine patriarchy.
“No woman or girl should be treated as a commodity as I have personally experienced firsthand,” Meji says. “We have a vision of a society where the dignity of every person is respected, and where systems of exploitation are dismantled rather than normalised.”
A growing number of survivors of the system of prostitution are responding to the challenge launched in May 2024 at the Cape High Court by SWEAT (Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Task Force). SWEAT is calling for the decriminalisation of “sex work”, which tragically would also decriminalise sex buyers, pimps and brothel keepers.
“As South Africans we have a moral obligation to choose justice over patriarchy and gender based violence; dignity over exploitation; and freedom over oppression. Together we can build a society where no woman is bought, sold, or exploited” Madlala-Routledge concludes.
goldman
A new teacher enters a classroom full of students.
The teacher stands at the front of the room and greets the students, \”Good morning, class.\”
None of the students say anything. One boy at the back of the classroom stands up, \”Good morning, teacher.\”
Puzzled, the teacher carries on. The following morning, the same thing happens. Day after day goes by, and it\’s the same routine.
One morning after greeting the class and the same student standing and greeting, the teacher has had enough, \”Why is it, that every time I walk in and greet the entire room, only you stand up and greet me?\”
In the most broken English, the boy replies, \”Because I are the only one here, what\’s name are Klass\”
Bowie
Fun South African Fact: For an unforgettable bucket-list activity, search for the famous Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) on safari in one of South Africa’s national parks or private game reserves. A South African safari is an experience like no other!