According to SWEAT, the guidelines show that police abuse of the rights of sex workers is deeply embedded, and that attempts to enforce the current law is impossibly expensive and legally uncertain, PoliticsWeb reports.
According to the guidelines, before making an arrest, police must judge that someone is a "known prostitute", "has a habit of frequenting certain streets", has been observed in those "certain streets on numerous occasions", was wearing clothing which was "indecent", was seen walking up to men in the streets in order to accost them, or waved down motor vehicles in order to attract attention, and "lifted/lowered/opened his/her clothing in order to expose his/her private parts or breasts".
The recent 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based violence and the upcoming International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers (Saturday 17th December) are supported by many South Africans, but the 250000-plus sex workers in South Africa, their clients and those who work with them, can expect little protection from the police, as they face daily abuse and indignities. The law is thoroughly discredited, and endangers thousands of women each year, said Sally-Jean Shackleton of SWEAT.
"Decriminalisation of sex work will free police officers to tackle real crime like violence against women, and will enable organisations like ourselves to improve the lives of sex workers - it's a win-win solution", Shackleton told PoliticsWeb.
Read the full article on www.politicsweb.co.za.
For more information, go to www.sweat.org.za.
