By Ntombikhona Mlondo(cohort 9 alumni) | Sisonke National Movement
These are guest articles written by AMC Cohort 9 (2025). They form part of a sector exercise, where cohort members engage with industry issues, perspectives, and solutions through thought leadership writing.
Abantu Abaphilayo Ngalomsebenzi – People Who Do This Work for a Living
In South Africa, many people don’t understand sex work. They think it’s something dirty, or illegal, or something that should be hidden. But let me tell you: sex work is work.
In my job at Sisonke, I work with sex workers across KwaZulu-Natal, especially women from townships and rural areas. Some are mothers. Some are students. Some are trans women. Some are supporting entire families. They are strong. They are smart. They are hustlers. And they deserve to be safe.
But because of our laws, they are not. Sex work is still criminalised in South Africa. That means it’s a crime just to try to feed your family. Police harass you. Clinics judge you. Even in your own community, you are called names. But sex workers are not criminals. They are workers, and they are human beings.
Izinkinga Zethu Azimfihliwe – But Nobody’s Listening
Sometimes women don’t go to the clinic for help because they are tired of being judged. They want PrEP (a pill that prevents HIV) or PEP (the emergency pill after exposure), but instead they get side-eyes and whispered jokes.
We are tired. We want a South Africa that protects sex workers.
Ama-Solutions Asekhona – We Are Already Changing the System
Even though the law is still against us, sex workers are not waiting. We are organising, educating, supporting each other. We are building a future.
In KZN, Sisonke works with clinics like TBHIV Care, Commercial City and Aurum Institute. These clinics treat sex workers with respect. They give access to PrEP, HIV testing, ART, Pap smears, STI treatment, and even methadone for women who use drugs. They do not judge. They help.
And we also work with SAPS. Through a program called DDP – Dignity, Diversity and Police, we are training officers on how to treat sex workers with respect. We are not asking for special treatment. We are just asking for sex workers to be treated like people.
Some officers are changing. Some now know that sex workers are mothers, sisters, daughters. This is progress. But we need more.
Why Decriminalisation Is The Only Way Forward
Let’s be clear: criminalising sex work doesn’t stop sex work. It just makes it more dangerous.
Right now, sex workers are scared to report rape. They can’t open bank accounts. They can’t work in peace. Their kids are taken away. Their health is at risk. Criminalisation puts power in the hands of violent clients, and corrupt cops, not women.
If sex work was decriminalised in South Africa, like in New Zealand or some parts of Australia, things would change:
Sex workers could go to the police when abused.
Clinics could serve openly without stigma.
Workers could unionise, protect themselves, and work with dignity.
Decriminalisation is not about saying everyone must be a sex worker. It’s about human rights. It’s about safety. It’s about choice.
From Durban’s Streets to Parliament: The Call Is Loud
For years, Sisonke, SWEAT, and other movements have marched, protested, and spoken up. We’ve said over and over: “Nothing about us without us.”
In 2022, the government finally did something that gave us a little hope. The Department of Justice released a draft bill to decriminalise sex work.. But since then? Silence. The bill is just sitting there, collecting dust.
Why are we waiting? How many more women must be killed before something is done?
We Are Not Going Anywhere
I want you, the reader, to understand: That sex workers are building, educating. and protecting each other. But your support is needed.
If you believe in justice, if you believe in dignity, if you believe in Ubuntu then you must support the decriminalisation of sex work.
Call to Action – From Me to You
Talk to your friends. Talk to your church. Talk to your leaders. Tell them: decriminalise sex work now. Not tomorrow. Not in five years. Now. Because as long as sex work is criminal, our lives are at risk.
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