POLOKWANE – Sisonke is a Sex worker movement, that is for sex workers and formed by sex workers.
It was founded in 2003, in Cape Town because sex workers’ rights were being abused and they were being exploited. They experienced many challenges whereby their voices were not being heard, they were unlawfully arrested and detained by the police, they had to pay bribes and they were called names because of the stereotypes that are associated with the work that they do.
Lindah Dumba, the Provincial Coordinator said that the Limpopo Provincial branch opened in 2010 and was housed under the wing of Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Project in Thohoyandou, Venda. In 2014 the branch moved to Polokwane.
“We have peer educators in Makhado, Thohoyandou and Musina where we regularly host outreach programmes because our mandate is to fight for the human rights of consenting adults,” she said.
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She explained that a person is not a sex worker first, they are human and that means that they have the same rights that apply to everybody else. The sex workers that Sisonke work with are taught their human rights.
“They have rights and it’s not fair for their rights to be discarded because of the profession that they are in. That is why we have movements like Sisonke that try to fight the decriminalization laws that are imposed on sex workers. We hear their cries, reach out to them and refer them to the relevant people when they are experiencing problems with things like opening cases at police stations and going to hospital ” she added.
“We mainly deal with women, both straight and transgender, but Sisonke is not gender specific when it comes to helping consenting adults,” Dumba said.
“We often go on outreaches where we distribute safer sex materials like condoms, lubricants and hold demonstrations for those who artn’t sure how to use a condom. We also give out pamphlets and booklets which explain their rights when facing arrest.”
Sisonke will on a monthly basis hold workshops called ‘Creative Space’ or ‘Risk Reduction’ where they educate the sex workers on their human rights and discuss the challenges faced in the chosen profession. For more information contact their Helpline on 0800 60 60 60 or Dumba on 071 357 7632.
