MBOMBELA – Sex workers in the CBD picketed outside the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court and spoke out against abuse by police officers.
They revealed to the media that they were no longer coping with the abuse by corrupt officials who were assaulting them, demanding sex and confiscating their money.
They accused officers of forcing themselves on them without paying. “Our government condemned abuse against women, but when it came to sex workers, we were not taken seriously. It seems like our government is turning a blind eye.
What we do is a way of demonstrating that we are the victims of abuse in South Africa. Sex workers are brutally killed in the country and this matter is not taken seriously. We decided to picket because we are abused by the people who are supposed to protect us.
Gone are those days when we used to see police and felt safe. These days when we see them, we run away or hide because we know that they are going to leave us traumatised,” a sex worker said.
They accused the police of assaulting them, taking their money and demanding sex, and calling them names such as Mahosha lonukako and Sifebe (stinking prostitute or slut).
She alluded that they were selling their bodies for money due to the dire situation at home. “It’s very painful to be in the streets at night feeling cold. Some of us are mothers. I am here because I want to put food on the table for two kids and pay their school fees. I want them to live a better live since I am unemployed.
“When you refuse to sleep with them, they spray pepper spray in your eyes so that you can’t see who the people are who force you to have sexual intercourse with them.”
The sex workers indicated that it was about time they be treated as human beings and enjoy their rights. Another said, “I have been abused by police on different occasions. After they had fulfilled their desires, I requested them to pay me R100 because it’s better than nothing.
The very same night I went to the police station to open a case of rape against the police, and again they made fun of me. One of the officers told me that I am a prostitute, how can I claim that I have been raped because my purpose in life is to spend the night with different men so they are not going to waste their time by opening
a case.”
The provincial spokesperson for the SAPS, Brig Selvy Mohlala, regarding these allegations and said, “We are against any form of violence against women and children regardless of their stature in communities. They must open a case at the nearest police station. If they are not getting help they must ask for the station commander, and if they are not assisted on that level, they must open a case at the provincial office so that we can investigate.”
