Countries: South Africa
Variables: SEGI-PRACTICE-1

"Feminist activists are revolting against decriminalisation. More than 200 human rights organisations have signed an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, explaining normalising prostitution would be a disaster for South Africa as it will mark a return to old-style regulatory policies from the colonial era" (para 9).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: MURDER-DATA-1

"[South Africa] also ranks fourth in the world for femicide — the murder of women and girls by men" (para 8).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"South Africa has among the highest rape incidence in the world" (para 7).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: IRP-LAW-1

"The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill — also known as the Jeffery Bill — which proposes removing all criminal penalties relating to prostitution, including pimping and brothel-owning, has been approved at the first stage. Its supporters are keen to highlight the least contentious component of the new law: those selling sex (primarily women and girls) will no longer be arrested" (para 2). "Incredibly, the bill [decriminallizing prostitution] would repeal prohibitions against 'any conspiracy to induce a female to engage in sexual acts, and kidnapping for purposes of sexual acts against a person’s will, including if such female is under the age of 16' and 'the ability...more

Countries: South Africa
Variables: DV-PRACTICE-2

"Domestic violence refuges are underfunded by the government" (para 7).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-1, DSFMF-PRACTICE-1

"Despite the bill [decriminalizing prostitution] being presented as a way to advance the rights of the women involved, the proposed law is based on a serious lack of knowledge and understanding of the realities of prostitution. It is no wonder: no sex trade survivor-led organisations calling for the abolition of the sex trade were consulted during its drafting" (para 4). "Feminist activists are revolting against decriminalisation. More than 200 human rights organisations have signed an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, explaining normalising prostitution would be a disaster for South Africa as it will mark a return to old-style regulatory policies from the colonial era" (para 9). "'It is impossible...more

Countries: South Africa
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

“Black women in rural South Africa face a ‘double whammy’ said Claassens, as both apartheid and customary laws - where land is handed down from father to son - have deprived them of property rights” (para 8). “Male-dominated tribal authorities hold great sway over rural communities, with the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini controlling 2.8 million hectares of land, an area the size of Belgium, under an entity called the Ingonyama Trust. Ngubane, nominated as one of three finalists in the 2020 Martin Ennals Award, a prestigious human rights prize, said this month's Durban court ruling was significant. ‘This will make a difference in terms of women's land and property inheritance,’...more

Countries: South Africa
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"South Africa has notoriously high levels of violence against women. The country has among the highest rape incidences in the world. In the first quarter of 2022 alone, police figures showed that 10,818 rape cases were reported" (para 4).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: GIC-LAW-1, GIC-LAW-3

"South Africa’s laws and regulations do cater for non-standard workers. They’re supposed to get health protection in the workplace, maternity leave and job security. But the policy framework is fragmented and employers don’t always comply. For instance, some women lose their income for the months they are on maternity leave" (para 16).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: ERBG-PRACTICE-1

"Financial planning expert Bomikazi Zeka revealed that female retirees were particularly disadvantaged because of the economic inequality they experienced prior to retirement. Women made up the largest group of low-paid employees, faced unequal labour market opportunities and had family care responsibilities" (para 14).

Countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Serbia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Swaziland, Syria, Trinidad/Tobago, Vanuatu, Vietnam
Variables: TRAFF-SCALE-1

3.0

Countries: South Africa
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-1

"They are working as many hours as they can to make enough money for food and school fees for their kids. Most are single mothers who often need to pick up their kids at a certain time, usually from paid childcare in Johannesburg or from a relative’s place in the smaller towns" (para 2). "Because sex work is criminalized, and there is stigma attached to it, it’s difficult for sex workers to report abuses by police and others. When women do overcome these barriers and go to the police, the experience is often humiliating. They either send them away or laugh at them saying: “Well, what do you expect? You’re...more

Countries: South Africa
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-5

"Although the police virtually never have evidence, they frequently harass or arrest them, and lock them up in police cells. They will pick them up because they know they are sex workers, or just because they are standing in a place where sex workers stand, or are dressed in a way that fits the police’s stereotype of what they consider to be the way sex workers dress. The arrests we documented were always the result of this kind of profiling" (para 5). "In some places, police have decided to leave sex workers alone. As far as we understand, the police in charge just don’t consider policing sex work a priority....more

Countries: South Africa
Variables: IRP-PRACTICE-3

"Women in South Africa face very high levels of gender-based violence. Female sex workers are even more exposed than other women. A recent study showed that 70% of female sex workers had experienced violence in the past year. More than half had been raped by intimate partners, police, clients or other men" (para 8). "HIV prevalence of between 39% and 89% has been documented among female sex workers across different areas of South Africa in the last decade. This is extremely high when compared to the country’s national HIV prevalence rate of 13.7%" (para 9).

Countries: South Africa
Variables: IRP-LAW-4

"The bill, which has been published for public comment, only deals with decriminalization and does not regulate the sex industry — something Lamola said would follow at a later stage" (para 9).