RESIDENTS of Glenwood will finally have the platform to raise their concerns regarding sex workers in the area.
Following pickets against prostitution last year by residents and the Bulwer Community Safety Forum, and the ensuing media coverage, government has decided to meet with residents to discuss their concerns.
A meeting will take place at Glenwood High School on Tuesday 18 March at 6pm. Residents are encouraged to attend in their numbers to make sure they have their say.
“Sex workers have been in the area for 12 years and the problem has just escalated. Sex workers and their illicit activities have crept into other areas in the community, bringing with them drugs, petty crime and more serious crime. Property prices have also dropped. We took a stand against the sex workers last year, which grabbed the attention of government and the head of police and has got people talking. Now we need residents to support this meeting as this was the whole reason why we took to the street, to call for such a meeting with the authorities,” said Heather Rorick from the Bulwer Community Safety Forum.
Janine Hicks, commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality, said the meeting was being held as a platform for conversation about sex workers.
She said the Commission had received complaints from sex worker advocacy groups about the treatment of sex workers in the area, and as the Commission had the mandate to promote and protect gender equality, it felt a meeting should be held with the community, Sisonke Sex Workers’ Movement, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, provincial SAPS, the City Manager, the national prosecuting authority, Metro Police and the ward councillor, to discuss a way forward.
“This will be a neutral process and there will be a mediator from the CCMA present. Anyone with concerns is encouraged to attend to speak their mind. The focus of the discussion is not on whether sex work is moral or immoral, should be legal or illegal, but rather to recognise that it is a reality in South Africa, for whatever reason. It is here in our suburbs and we need to respond in a way that is not harmful or does not violate the rights of others. Our intention is to create a safe space for residents to raise their concerns and be heard by relevant state stakeholders – but also, hopefully, to educate and raise awareness around related rights, to prevent further violence and abuse of rights,” she said.
She said she hoped workable solutions would be established.
Ben Madokwe, chairman of the Umbilo CPF, said: “Sex workers are here, and what’s happening affects everyone. We need to address the problem and not shy away from it. There are children living in our community and the way the women dress and their behaviour is an issue. We need this space for conversation and it is better to have the authorities present to hear about this from residents.”
