compound sex workers' individual risk for HIV

Sex Work

Sex work and the 2010 FIFA World Cup: time for public health imperatives to prevail.

Sex work is receiving increased attention in southern Africa. In the context of South Africa's intense preparation for hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, anxiety over HIV transmission in the context of sex work has sparked debate on the most appropriate legal response to this industry. Drawing on existing literature, the authors highlight the increased vulnerability of sex workers in the context of the HIV pandemic in southern Africa. They argue that laws that criminalise sex work not only compound sex workers' individual risk for HIV, but also compromise broader public health goals. International sporting events are thought to increase demand for paid sex and, particularly in countries with hyper-endemic HIV such as South Africa, likely to foster increased HIV transmission through unprotected sex. The 2010 FIFA World Cup presents a strategic opportunity for South Africa to respond to the challenges that the sex industry poses in a strategic and rights-based manner. Public health goals and growing evidence on HIV prevention suggest that sex work is best approached in a context where it is decriminalised and where sex workers are empowered. In short, the authors argue for a moratorium on the enforcement of laws that persecute and victimise sex workers during the World Cup period.

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Editors’ Note: With kick-off for the 2010 FIFA World Cup not far off, South Africa has clearly missed an opportunity to proactively reform its sex work laws as Germany did in 2002, four years before it hosted the FIFA World Cup. South Africa has been reviewing its sexual offenses legislation and considering reform of sex work laws for almost a decade but the South African Law Reform Commission’s recommendations on law reform and sex work are not expected until 2011. If Parliament sanctions a moratorium on enforcement of the laws that persecute and victimise sex workers during the World Cup and if public health authorities ensure distribution of free male and female condoms and raise awareness about safer sex and sex workers rights, the immediate benefit would be reduced HIV transmission. But these actions could also inform longer-term decriminalisation strategies in South Africa and other countries in the region, strategies that empower sex workers and make their working conditions safer. South Africa is the country with the greatest number of people living with HIV in the world. Securing the long-term health of its own citizens and of the people who visit it requires progressive public health initiatives and changes in legal frameworks. Go South Africa go!