Beyond criminalized identities, a qualitative analysis of the lived experiences of sex workers in Cape Town

Abstract

In various parts of the world, including South Africa, sex work is highly stigmatised and the buying and selling of sex is illegal. As such sex workers are profoundly marginalised, and as a by-product of criminalisation, stigma fuels the various forms of social and institutional exclusion and discrimination that infringe their human and constitutional rights. This study explores the experiences of sex workers within the network of the Sex Workers Education & Advocacy Taskforce, which is a non-government organisation whose headquarters are in Cape Town that advocates for the rights of sex workers, and how their identities are shaped, both internally and externally. The research design of this study is a qualitative study, informed by feminist ethnography as both a method and grounding framework for how the research was undertaken. The field work in this study was conducted during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Traditional fieldwork conducted, including semi-structured interviews, two focus groups and observations, which took place during the constraints of the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, were accompanied by other data gathering methods. These include, several online and telephonic key informant in depth interviews and visual anthropology methods such as photo voice. The primary research participants of this study were 10 Black sex workers, recruited through non-probability snow ball sampling. This study sought to understand how sex workers navigate the social stigma they experience and how they determine their own identities outside of sex work. Furthermore, this study focuses on advocacy for sex workers’ rights as a form of resistance against discrimination and a means to claim their rights and their humanity. The findings in this study demonstrate that criminalisation of sex work is a barrier to the realisation and enjoyment of socioeconomic rights (for example the difficulties in accessing healthcare and reporting gender-based violence to the police) and it recommends that decriminalisation would make a drastic improvement in the quality of life of sex workers. Moreover, this study stresses the importance of the recognition of the womxn who engage in sex work as people with inherent humanity and dignity, which should not be negated by the stigma associated with sex work.

Mo dikarolong tse di farologaneng tsa lefatshe, go akarediwa Aforikaborwa, tiro ya thobalano e kgobiwa thata, mme go rekisa le go reka thobalano ga go mo molaong. Ka ntlha ya seo, badiri ba thobalano ba kgaphelwa thoko thata, mme jaaka setlhagiswapotlana sa go dirwa molato wa bosenyi, sekgobo se etegetsa mefuta e e farologaneng ya go tlhaolwa ga loago le mo ditheong gammogo le tlhaolo e e gatakang ditshwanelo tsa bona tsa botho le tsa molaotheo. Thutopatlisiso e tlhotlhomisitse maitemogelo a badiri ba thobalano mo kgolaganong ya Setlhophatiro sa Thuto le Puelelo ya Badiri ba Thobalano, e leng setheo se e seng sa puso. Kantorokgolo ya sona e kwa Motsekapa mme setheo se buelela ditshwanelo tsa badiri ba thobalano le ka moo boitshupo jwa bona bo bopegang ka gona, ka fa gare le kwa ntle. Thadiso ya patlisiso ya thutopatlisiso eno ke e e lebelelang mabaka – mme e theilwe mo go tlhatlhobeng maitemogelo a baagi e le mokgwa le letlhomeso la ka moo thutopatlisiso e dirilweng ka gona. Tiro ya kwa mafelong mo thutopatlisisong eno e dirilwe ka nako ya leroborobo le le neng le tsweletse pele la Covid-19. Tiro ya tlwaelo ya kwa mafelong e e dirilweng e akareditse dipotsolotso tse di batlileng di rulagane, ditlhopha tsa puisano le kelotlhoko tse di diragetseng ka nako ya pitlagano ya tekanyetsometsamao ka 2020 le 2021. Mekgwa eno e ne e patilwe ke mekgwa e mengwe ya go kokoanya data e e akaretsang dipotsolotso di le mmalwa tse di tseneletseng tsa mo maranyaneng le tsa megala le basedimosi ba botlhokwa, mekgwa ya ditshwantshopono e tshwana le Photovoice. Bannileseabe ba ntlha ba patlisiso mo thutopatlisisong eno e ne e le badiri ba thobalano ba bantsho ba le 10, ba ba neng ba ngokilwe ka mokgwa wa go tlhopha sampole moo bannileseabe ba ba leng gona ba thusang go ngokela ba bangwe. Thutopatlisiso e ne e batla go tlhaloganya gore badiri ba thobalano ba samagana jang le sekgobo se ba se itemogelang le gore ba nna le boitshupo jo bo ntseng jang kwa ntle ga tiro ya thobalano. Mo godimo ga moo, thutopatlisiso e ne e lebeletse go buelelwa ga ditshwanelo tsa badiri ba thobalano jaaka tsela ya go ema kgatlhanong le go tlhaolwa le jaaka sediriswa sa go boelwa ke ditshwanelo e botho jwa bona. Diphitlhelelo tsa thutopatlisiso eno di bontsha gore go dira tiro ya thobalano go nna molato wa bosenyi ke sekgoreletsi sa go fitlhelela le go itumelela ditshwanelo tsa ikonomiloago (sekai, mathata a go fitlhelela tlhokomelo ya boitekanelo le go begela sepodisi ka tirisodikgokang ya bong) mme thutopatlisiso e atlenegisa gore go fedisiwa ga go dira tiro ya thobalano go nna molato wa bosenyi go ka dira diphetogo tse di boitshegang mo matshelong a badiri ba thobalano. Mo godimo ga moo, thutopatlisiso e gatelela botlhokwa jwa temogo ya basadi ba ba dirang tiro ya thobalano jaaka batho ba ba nang le ditshwanelo tsa botho le seriti, mme seo ga se a tshwanela go ganediwa ka sekgobo se se amanngwang le tiro ya thobalano.

Ezingxenyeni ezahlukene zomhlaba, okuhlanganisa neNingizimu Afrika, ukudayisa ngomzimba kucwaswa kakhulu njengoba ukuthengwa nokudayiswa kocansi kungekho emthethweni. Ngakho-ke, abathengisa ngomzimba babandlululwa kakhulu, futhi njengomphumela wokwenza ubugebengu, ukucwaswa kubhebhezela izinhlobo ezahlukene zokubandlululwa kwezenhlalo nezikhungo kanye nokucwaswa okwephula amalungelo abo obuntu kanye nomthethosisekelo. Lolu cwaningo luhlole iziipiliyoni zabaqwayizi ngaphakathi kuyinethiwekhi Yethimba Lemfundo Yabaqwayizi kanye Nokuzimela, okuyinhlangano engekho ngaphansi kukahulumeni. Ikomkhulu layo liseKapa futhi le nhlangano ilwela amalungelo abaqwayizi kanye nendlela ubunikazi babo obakhiwe ngayo, ngaphakathi nangaphandle. Umklamo wocwaningo walolu cwaningo ungowekhwalithi - ukwaziswa i-ethnografi yabesifazane njengendlela kanye nohlaka oluyisisekelo lokuthi ucwaningo lwenziwa kanjani. Umsebenzi oqhubekayo kulolu cwaningo wenziwa ngesikhathi sobhubhane oluqhubekayo lwe-Covid-19. Umsebenzi ojwayelekile owenziwe wawuhlanganisa izingxoxo ezihlelekile, amaqembu amabili okugxilwe kuwo kanye nokubhekisiswa okwenzeka ngesikhathi kunezingqinamba zokuvalwa kwezindawo ngonyaka wezi-2020 nangonyaka wezi-2021. Lezi zindlela beziphelezelwa ezinye izindlela zokuqoqa imininingwane okuhlanganisa nezingxoxo eziningi ezijulile ze-inthanethi nezocingo nabanolwazi olubalulekile, nezindlela ezibukwayo ze-anthropholoji njenge-Zwi lezithombe. Ababambiqhaza abangqala bocwaningo kulolu cwaningo kwakungabaqwayizi abamnyama abayi-10, aqoqwa ngamasampula esnobholi sokungenzekanga. Lolu cwaningo belufuna ukuqonda ukuthi abaqwayizi babhekana kanjani nokucwaswa kwezenhlalo abahlangabezana nakho nokuthi banquma kanjani ubunikazi babo ngaphandle komsebenzi wocansi. Ngaphezu kwalokho, ucwaningo lwalugxile ekukhulumeni kwamalungelo abaqwayizi njengendlela yokumelana nokubandlululwa kanye nezindlela zokufuna amalungelo abo kanye nobuntu babo. Okutholwe kulolu cwaningo kukhombisa ukuthi ukwenziwa kube yicala ukudayisa ngocansi kuyisithiyo ekufezekisweni nasekuthokozeleni amalungelo enhlalo-mnotho (isibonelo, ubunzima bokuthola usizo lwezempilo kanye nokubika emaphoyiseni udlame olusekelwe kubulili) futhi ucwaningo luncoma ukuthi ukwehliswa kobugebengu kuzokwenza ngcono kakhulu izinga lempilo yabaqwayizi. Ngaphezu kwalokho, lolu cwaningo lugcizelela ukubaluleka kokuqashelwa kwabesifazane abazibandakanya emsebenzini wocansi njengabantu abanobuntu nesithunzi esizalwa nabo, okungafanele kushaywe indiva istigma esihambisana nomsebenzi wocansi