Rights Not Rescue: A Report on Female, Male, and Trans Sex Workers’ Human Rights in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa

This 106-page report discusses how the criminalisation of sex work in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa leaves sex workers vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse, as well as extortion, from law enforcement officers such as police and border guards. In addition to documenting widespread human rights abuses against sex workers, the report describes innovative organising tactics among sex workers to redress these rights violations. The report highlights opportunities for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), governments, donors, and United Nations agencies to expand rights-based approaches to sex work that will ultimately improve the health and well-being of sex workers.

The study deployed qualitative methodologies to produce a rich data set illustrating the complexities of the issues confronted by sex workers in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Researchers held focus groups in order to engage respondents in joint discussion regarding their working conditions and experiences before moving into collecting more in-depth information related to health and rights. Semi-structured interviews allowed researchers to explore issues with people agreeing to one-on-one discussion. Once the research was complete, the proposed findings and recommendations were presented to a focus group of study participants. Their suggestions helped to refine and prioritise the recommendations.

According to the report, the experiences of men and trans people who engage in sex work are rarely recognised or acknowledged. This study gave priority to gathering testimony from sex workers themselves about their experiences of human rights abuses and of their efforts to redress them. Information gathered directly from sex workers provides the most accurate account of the realities of their daily lives. This information can also constitute the basis for developing strategies for the protection of sex workers’ human rights. The report explains that currently most social interventions in the region aim to "rehabilitate" female sex workers and prevent HIV transmission between sex workers and clients. Evidence-based approaches that protect and promote the rights of sex workers are extremely rare and the few that exist are under-resourced.

The report states that the governments of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa have the responsibility to protect and respect the rights of all people in their countries irrespective of whether or not they are engaged in activities that are criminalised or are migrants. This study has found that law enforcement agents and other state actors such as border guards are the greatest violators of sex workers’ human rights in the three countries under review. This study also found that sex workers cannot access protection from the state and that a climate of impunity exists in regard to rights violations against sex workers, among both the police and the general public. The services provided by the government, especially those relating to HIV and sexual and reproductive health, fail to protect sex workers’ right to health care. Civil society organisations and funding bodies have also failed to provide sex workers with the support and services they need to protect their health.

To ensure the protection of the health and human rights of sex workers, this report recommends the following:

• Governments should decriminalise sex work, invest in evidence-based and rights-based health initiatives for sex workers, support sex worker–led anti-discrimination trainings for police and health clinic staff, ensure that sex workers have access to police protection, hold accountable police who violate sex workers’ human rights, and end police raids against sex workers.
• Civil society organisations should advocate for the human rights of male, female, and trans sex workers, advocate for evidence-based programmes that reduce HIV transmission and defend rights, support mechanisms for redress of human and labour rights violations, and support sex worker–led programmes and initiatives.
• Funders should fund and support sex workers’ collective organising and organisations that promote sex workers' rights and health, support mainstream human rights groups and other NGOs to collaborate with sex worker groups on projects to document and confront violence by state and nonstate actors as well as support health and rights initiatives dealing with the specific realities faced by migrant sex workers of all genders and of male and trans sex workers.

The report concludes that an essential part of a human rights approach is the inclusion of marginalised communities in actions taken to improve their lives. Support for sex worker leadership in antidiscrimination campaigns, in service organisations, and struggles for rights will truly address the problems faced by communities of sex workers. It is also essential to recognise the diversity of sex worker communities in the countries in which this research took place and ensure that migrant, trans, male, and female sex workers are all part of the solution.