South African Perspective on Sexual Slavery, Sex Work and Exploitation

Abstract

After millennia, formal slavery in most jurisdictions worldwide eventually came to an end by the middle of the nineteenth century. Yet, all kinds of trapped forms of labour took its place, among others sexual slavery-one of the most serious organised crimes of our time and historically one of the oldest human practices of gender inequality and exploitation. This chapter starts with broad, introductory remarks on the possible causes of sexual slavery and exploitation as well as what we as a society can do to collectively address this pressing issue. It then looks in more detail at the extent of this problem in South Africa. The chapter then moves on to consider antihuman trafficking legislation in South Africa and what it entails; a distinction is made between sexual slavery and sex work; and the reasons, effects and value of decriminalising sex work are referred to. A short account is given of the mythologised life of Sara Baartman, one of the most famous, but also least known, South African woman of her day and what we can learn from her about gender inequality, sexual slavery and exploitation.Social instability and conflict drive people to embrace desperate measures in order to survive. Despair, hunger, frustration and anxiety render some women vulnerable and gullible to the empty promises made by traffickers. Instead of promised jobs or study opportunities, they find themselves forced into servitude or prostitution.Syndicates that deal with human trafficking consist of greedy, unscrupulous, predatory, self-centred violent men and women who are involved in coercion, fraud and deception. They commit trafficking offences with impunity. Trafficking is their source of income. They are daring and slippery. They avoid being arrested at all costs. These are men for whom honour and nobility are meaningless words [1]. Modern Slavery and Human TraffickingSouth African Perspective on Sexual Slavery, Sex Work and Exploitation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86720

Failed Rescue Mission, Child Prostitution and Resuccumbing Factors in Gauteng, South Africa

“…The rationale for entering prostitution differs across societies; yet children offering sex for materials exchange have a regular arena where they patronize themselves to clients and this scenario seems to have predisposed them into victimization (Jones, 2019). Similarly, it becomes crucial to understand some pushing factors of prostitution outside the circumference of rational choice ideology.…”

“…This phenomenon does not exclude virtually all global contemporary societies, thus making child prostitution an issue of great concern in contemporary South African debate. Studies have also shown that the severe economic climate of the cities usually gives birth to unemployment, poverty, want and neediness; and these factors predispose urban dwellers, particularly the adolescent girls, into prostitution as an alternative means of survival (Sumon and Khan, 2020;Jonas, 2019;Jones, 2019;Olofinbiyi et. al, 2019).…”