It focuses on the regulation of sex paints. As Commissioner of the Commission for Gender Equality, I helped draft their 2013 position paper on sex paintings: Decriminalisation of sex paintings in South Africa.
There are other tactics for sex paintings. These come with criminalization, legalization, partial decriminalization and decriminalization. Sex paintings are a crime in South Africa, meaning that any sex painting done on the street or in brothels is illegal and controlled as such.
This makes it difficult for sex workers working on the street to be safe. They worry that police will arrest them, forcing them into harmful places where consumers can abuse them. They are also vulnerable to police abuse.
Like the Committee for Gender Equality, I also propose decriminalization. This would mitigate, among other things, some of the threats faced by sex workers because their paintings are considered a crime in the country. They are exposed to physical violence, the threat of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, police abuse, intellectual distress and even death. Decriminalization means sex staff can decide where to work and won’t have to worry about arrest, police harassment and stigma.
Criminalization
Sex paintings in the country are regulated by the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957 and the Crimes (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) (Amendment) Act 2007.
This legislation was reviewed several years ago through the South African Law Reform Commission, a permanent legal reform framework established under Bill 19 of 1973. Its 2015 report called for the continued criminalization of sex paintings to save other people from “knowingly living in prostitution (and) profiting from a person’s prostitution. “
He also advised the continued use of public ordinances to deal with the “public nuisance” of “prostitutes. “Refuting the argument that poverty is one of the reasons other people enter sex work, the report states that women seek welfare interventions.
But this is not a viable option. Given the higher levels of poverty and unemployment in the country, government resources for deficient women are scattered. Nearly 47% of South Africans now rely on government subsidies.
The merging of sex paintings and human trafficking is aiding the further criminalization of sex paintings. But not all sex personnel are coerced and not all sex personnel are trafficked. , and some women decide to do sex paintings.
But they face serious risks. So what are the alternatives?
Other approaches
Elsewhere, the law makes sex paintings legal under certain conditions, such as normal medical examinations, licensing, and registration as a form of status over sex painters. For example, sex paintings are legal in the Netherlands and in some jurisdictions in Australia, Germany and Nevada. Some African countries have a mixture of legality and illegality. Legalization does not yet offer the broader freedom of decriminalization, which will curb stigma when making sex paintings like any other painting.
With partial decriminalization, the sex painter is not criminalized, but his clients are. In other words, the customer of the service can be arrested, but not the seller. This might sound like a clever idea, it really makes sexual staff more vulnerable because it makes their paintings clandestine. This creates a lack of acceptance between the sex painter and the client, reduces their bargaining power, and hinders their ability to negotiate safe sex.
Street sex in Sweden has reported harsher situations since the advent of partial decriminalization, as well as increased stigma and discrimination.
Decriminalization
The South African Commission for Gender Equality’s position paper, discussed above, calls for decriminalization. This means repealing all legislation opposing sex work, as well as provisions criminalizing all facets of sex work.
The difference between legalization and decriminalization is that decriminalization is accompanied by any express state-imposed regulation of sex work. Instead, the industry is regulated through existing legislation and regulations, especially the hard work law.
Sex paintings are identified as a valid business and are governed by traditional rules of employment and physical fitness. Sex workers will have the same rights as other staff and will also be guilty of paying taxes.
In her timely 2022 book, Policing Bodies—Law, Sex Work and Desire in Johannesburg, the jurist Indiathusi advocates decriminalization. Obviously, it shows the complexity of the relationship between sex and law enforcement, and how counterproductive the criminalization of sex paintings is.
seeking
In February 2022, John Jeffery, Deputy Minister of Justice of South Africa, announced additional consultations on the report of the Law Reform Commission. He said he wished to “fully engage” with all stakeholders, including government departments, on the features of the proposed policy and its implications. , given the diversity of opinions, even though public hearings on sex paintings had already been held.
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