A police officer was performing his normal rounds, patrolling the streets on the lookout for troublemakers, when suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spotted something unusual.
A 24-year old lady was standing at the side of the road, looking down at her phone whilst texting, almost naked.
The woman in question was wearing nothing except for a pair of skimpy panties. She was entirely topless, and didn’t seem to mind.
Upon seeing the police officer jogging her way, she tried to make a hasty escape by running to the nearest house and jerking on the front door. Luckily for the police officer, the front door was locked and he was able to make an arrest.
The police officer soon realised that he wasn’t dealing with a nudist or naturalist, but with a prostitute.
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The Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act of 2007 states that any person who has unlawful carnal intercourse or commits an act of indecency with any other person for reward, is guilty of an offence, effectively criminalising the client as well as the prostitute.
In 2013 the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (Sweat) estimated that there were between 121 000 and 167 000 prostitutes in South Africa at any given time.
It’s difficult to imagine who is keeping these ladies in business, as the SA National Aids Council’s (Sanac) 2016 study found that 60% of all prostitutes are HIV positive, whilst many others are HIV negative but still carry infectious diseases such as syphilis, herpes and hepatitis B which can be life threatening and are not as easy to ward off with condoms as one might believe.
“This is typical of a lot of prostitutes in eMalahleni,” said Capt Eddie Hall, “they often stand at the side of the road wearing very little clothing or as in this case, no clothing at all.”
Capt Hall stated that the SAPS were aware that prostitution was an encumbering problem in eMalahleni and that people were often unaware of their efforts to bring these women to justice.
The ladies of the night patrol Jellicoe Street and the heart of the eMalahleni CBD at night. The police warn that if they don’t keep their “trade and wares” covered up whilst marching along eMalahleni’s sidewalks, they will be arrested on sight.
“People often say we aren’t doing enough to stop prostitution” said Capt Eddie Hall, “but it’s a difficult thing to prove if you don’t personally see the transaction taking place. The fight against sex work is an uphill battle, but Emalahleni SAPS is making a point of cracking down on indecent exposure, which will hopefully encourage the ladies on the street to go home, to stay safe and to get off the streets.”
Capt Hall concluded by saying,
“we want the ladies of the night, their brothels, their pimps and their clients to know that both prostitution and operating a brothel in South Africa are crimes. If you are caught wearing very little clothing whilst in a public area, as this woman was, you will be arrested. If you are caught selling sex or buying sex, the arrest will be even swifter and the punishment even more severe.”
