Why is it illegal to sell your organs for a profit or to sell yourself into slavery? Imagine someone being able to say “well, you are complaining of financial difficulty but you still have two kidneys” or “you haven’t sold yourself into slavery yet”. Steps are being taken to decriminalise prostitution. So in effect, people will be able to say, “well there’s always the option of selling your body as a sex object”.

Do we want to accept and normalise work that:

• Creates a marketplace for women’s bodies turning them into sexual commodities purely for the gratification of a buyer
• Dehumanises and degrades a person to the point of physical and emotional breakdown whose worth is based on how well they perform as an sexual object
• Occurs in an environment saturated with extreme forms of physical, emotional and verbal abuse

Those who call for the decriminalisation of prostitution claim that it will make sex work safe, reduce violence and empower women to care for themselves and their families. Evidence from countries which have decriminalised prostitution shows that decriminalisation has, in fact, exacerbated the harms of prostitution. Rachel Moran writes in her book, “Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution”, that no area of prostitution is free from degradation. She was left feeling humiliated and powerless as her body was used as a receptacle whether it was on the street or in a five-star hotel. 

Prostitutes working in countries where prostitution is legal continue to report high levels of verbal abuse, physical assault and sexual violence. Buyers feel empowered as the object they are purchasing and the service they are demanding is accepted by the justice system. There is a greater demand to full entitlement and unrestricted use of a woman’s body. When the door closes nothing is stopping him from doing whatever he wants, after all, he is paying for it. 

Of particular concern in South Africa is violence between prostitutes and the police force. Decriminalisation will not reduce the interaction of prostitutes and police. Instead prostitutes will be required to provide evidence of legal registration. Should the prostitute fail to have the correct documents, what then?

Relaxation of laws around prostitution inevitably makes pimps and criminals feel that their business is legitimised and provides more loopholes for them to traffic women and girls. Decriminalisation in other parts of the world has fuelled the sex industry creating a need for a steady flow of women and children. The underground business of human trafficking is an easier and cheaper source of women in comparison to purchasing a woman through a legal registration process which involves additional fees and taxes. 

Slavery has been abolished. The selling of organs is illegal. Why would we consider normalising the selling of a body as an object of sexual gratification to a buyer who expects to handle the commodity as they demand?

Join us in stopping the normalisation of dehumanisation, degradation, and violence against women. 

STOP Sexual Exploitation From Being OK