WASHINGTON, DC (June 7, 2023) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and its subsidiary, the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (ICOSE), commended South Africa’s decision to stop a bill that would fully decriminalize prostitution.
“The bill in South Africa that would have fully decriminalized prostitution would concurrently have decriminalized men who buy sex from prostituted persons. There is no way to eradicate prostitution and to stop gender-based violence against women without legal remedies to hold sex buyers accountable. The South African bill did not include any measures to thwart sex buyers,” said Dr. Marcel van der Watt, Research Institute Director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, who has dealt extensively with sex trafficking and sexual offenses committed by sex buyers in South Africa’s sex trade from both a law enforcement and research perspective.
“Full decriminalization of prostitution policy ‘solutions’ will never make prostitution ‘safer,’ as prostitution is never safe and inherently leads to physical, emotional, and psychological trauma. Fully decriminalizing prostitution ultimately creates more demand for prostituted persons and increases sex trafficking. South Africa should focus on building off ramps for people in systems of prostitution.”
Many South African survivor voices are calling for the Sankara Model, which would criminalize pimps, brothel owners, and sex buyers, while decriminalizing those exploited in systems of prostitution.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
