Street sweep for love
JOBURG - Men come-a-knockin' more at brothel doors on Valentine’s Day.
A quick scan of the adult entertainment section of a newspaper provides one with various numbers to phone.
For this exercise, focus was placed on those with Valentine’s Day special offers.
“Good morning,” a friendly woman answered, after we phoned to inquire about an advertisement offering a R350 ‘full-house’ massage on 14 February.
“We’ve got such a long list already, but we can try to squeeze you in, honey,” the woman on the other side of the line said.
After asking if this was due to Valentine’s Day, she sheepishly replied, “A bit more than usual.”
You could hear her tapping on a tablet or cellphone, before she said, “We’re closing at 11pm. I can’t seem to find you space, would you like to come on Saturday?”
A polite refusal later and another call girl was on the line.
This one was quite brash, and clearly a keen businesswoman.
“I can do a blowjob and protected sex for R1 500, but you’ll have to SMS me an hour before we start.”
While negotiating a date for this to happen, the topic shifted to Valentine’s Day.
“Ag, don’t worry, lots of men are alone tomorrow, I’ll be there for you,” she cooed.
She admitted she was working more, and quickly added, “Because it’s Friday.”
The third woman was not into any form of Q&A.
“You can come at 7pm,” she said, abruptly.
Trying to determine if an earlier time was available was met with some hostility after this reporter asked, “Is that because you have more clients?”
Needless to say, she hung up.
A Google search also provided revealing information on the sex trade on the day.
A multitude of articles popped up, claiming that the sex trade did indeed spike on Valentine’s Day.
There is obviously little proof if people using services on the day are single, in a relationship or married.
But clearly a little extra love helps chase away the blues, on this red heart day.
Police still have a tough time arresting sex workers
However, with the sex trade still illegal in South Africa a police officer, who wanted to remain anonymous, admitted that there weren’t more cases involving entrapment to arrest prostitutes on the day.
Entrapment has become a headache, as police are faced with a tough task to prove prostitution. Even in known brothels, it seldom happens that money exchanges hands that can prove that one person was soliciting sex.
When raiding brothels, sex workers or brothel owners are usually charged with the illegal sale of liquor, which is almost always present.
But a slap on the wrist later, and the women are back and ready for some lonely hearts on Valentine’s Day.
