Welcome to the Johannesburg CBD where money is what sustains many livelihoods and the nature of sex work is both implied and explicit. For many, sex work might be regarded as a morally degrading activity in society but for some of the men and women involved in this business trade, agency is what regulates their services.
“I became a sex worker because I wanted a Carvela for my matric dance but could not afford it,” says 28-year-old Lindiwe who is still an active sex worker. Lindiwe says she had always dreamt of owning the pair of shoes and a friend of hers recommended sex work. The young woman laughs as she explains how she gave into peer pressure, thinking that would be her last time working as a sex worker.
“I had plans of continuing with my studies but I managed to buy myself shoes and once I was in the field, I met successful women and some of them were mothers who were earning a living through sex and I decided to stay,” she says.
Lindiwe is one of many men and women who are fighting for the decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa as they believe that their work is just like any other occupation. She says in as much as she would appreciate the freedom of movement, it’s the police harassment and the stigma in society that she wants to see gone.
“The police will take me from just standing at a corner and not tell me why they are arresting me. It’s tough because others don’t want bribes but ask for sexual favours and if we refuse then we are kept in cells or wrong statements are handed in,” she says.
Lindiwe says she’s spent nights in holding cells three times during her career, and while she has gotten used to being taken by cops, no two days are the same. “I just pay the bribe sometimes because I can’t be losing business,” she adds.
Sisonke Media Liaison Officer Katlego Rasebitse says sex workers want to be law-abiding citizens, but the laws in the country make it difficult for them.
“Some of our members are part of brothels but have seen underage children being used as sex workers. We know this is not right but are afraid to report now because when we do, the police end up harassing everyone,” says Rasebitse.
“We also have a strict policy of advocating for safe sex because we know that HIV/Aids is a serious thing. All we want is to be allowed to do our work because we are not criminals,” he says.
Lindiwe says sex work is her choice of work and she wishes that people would respect this choice and not pity her. Another sex worker, a friend of hers, shouts, “We are not a charity case, we can drive our own cars and build our own homes with the money we make, so I wish they would leave us alone because we are not prostitutes.”
The two laugh and Lindiwe justifies why she doesn’t like being called a <em>magosha,</em> “I work according to a structure and rates like any other person who renders services. Prostitutes settle for anything given in exchange for sex because they are desperate.”
Lindiwe says she is married and her husband is a former regular client. Her small eyes get bigger as she beams over how he approached the marriage subject. “He obviously had been watching me for a while and he asked if I would leave my job if he married me and provided for me,” says Lindiwe, who then takes a speech pause.
“This was a serious proposal but I said no!” chuckles the sex worker whilst rocking on her chair. Her friend says, “But here you are married to him right now, isn’t it?” Lindiwe answers confidently saying, “Of course! He found me making my own money and he just had to understand that I love what I do, and it’s just work.”
Lindiwe says it’s life changing situations such as these that prove just how much she loves her job. “If something better came along then maybe I would take it because growth is an important thing but for now, I’m happy.” she says.
She says society will never understand the many roles that sex workers are forced to play. “I end up being a friend and counsellor because most of these men are depressed,” she says.
“We have regular clients that we have formed friendships with, and we’ll often refer them to marriage counsellors because we are also tired of seeing single mothers. Their wives must also understand that we are all sexual beings and this thing of having sex once a month doesn’t work,” says Lindiwe.
The story of sex work is the same but the people in the field are all different, says Primrose who is a 44-year-old mother of four children aged between 23 and 10 years old. Primrose was born and raised in Zimbabwe but moved to South Africa in 2007.
Primrose used to work as a housekeeper at a hotel in the area before deciding to get into sex work. “Getting a job was so easy for me when I got to South Africa and I also got free accommodation, so when I lost all of this, looking again was difficult.”
She says she had spent years working at the hotel and had failed to acquire new skills while she was there and, as a result, she thought she was not employable. “Luckily for me, I knew some women who worked at the hotel as sex workers and they all looked decent and respectable, so I didn’t see it as a bad thing to do,” she said.
Primrose says although the CBD is her ‘home’, she has learnt to move from one place to the other. “We call it seasonal movement because we know where the money is. Sometimes, I’ll go as far as Witbank during the week then come back again on weekends.”
The flamboyant mother boasts about her rights as a sex worker, saying she is more than just a sex worker now as she is a peer educator to other workers. “We teach them how to practice safe sex and also how to express that they are sex workers when they get to spaces such as clinics.”
Primrose says most of the sex workers she knows have been harassed by nurses in clinics. “They will tell me to bring my partner when I had just told them I am a sex worker. It doesn’t make sense, but I now know how to deal with them,” she says.
Mpho Ramashala who is a counsellor that has worked with some sex workers at the Hillbrow Clinic says that she sees many types of workers but their frustration as health caregivers comes when some workers are not honest about what they do.
“Talking to them tends to be difficult because they are not always honest, and with treatments such as PrEP, we find that oftentimes, it is not given to the right people,” says Ramashala.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is medication given to people who think they might be at high risk of getting the HIV/Aids virus. Ramashala says different people use it differently but she’s aware that some sex workers use it because of the high risk they face.
Primrose says part of her job is to make sure that sex workers understand these medical processes and join focus groups which help many workers feel empowered. “I empower other women and I feel empowered because I have learnt how to write and tell stories through newsletters that we circulate,” says Primrose.
She says her biggest concern is always about taking care of herself. “I always avoid drinking too much alcohol because I need to look good,” says the woman whilst fixing the positioning of her hoop earrings, exposing her natural and unmanicured long nails.
She coils her legs on the grass as she’s seated and says “I always wanted to be an air hostess when I was a child, even my brother used to call me air hostess and I loved that name,” says Primrose.
This sentence is later followed by a consoling, “But I am in this industry because I want my children to be professionals one day. I want them to have the best education.” Primrose says her children think that she’s a peer educator that helps other women but don’t know that she too, is a sex worker.
The fact that her children link her to only one profession does not bother her. She says, “People think sex workers are dumb, immoral and dirty, but that’s not true. We are parents, we are also human beings and deserve respect.”
Primrose says she hopes that sex work is decriminalised because it would make things easier for them and also assist in having discussions around the work they do. The poised woman says she would love to be viewed as just Primrose who provides for her family and not a sex worker.
“We do normal things, I’m a domestic and like doing laundry and cleaning. I’d rather not have anything in my fridge but stay in a clean environment,” she says before breaking into giggles. Primrose says sex workers all have their different mechanisms of dealing with things, and cleaning has always been hers.
“I will even chase my boyfriend away and not respond to emails until I am done and I think my house is clean,” she says. Just like Lindiwe, Primrose also met her boyfriend of seven years on the job. She says he has always been supportive of her decision to stay in the field of sex work.
Primrose says she has learnt to be content with her job but wishes that many of the younger girls in the field knew about the various projects that can earn them extra money on the side.
“If you are not leaning on something else then sex work can be so hard but it’s also funny how the men we do business with prefer independent women who do other things on the side,” she says.
When asked how much her rates are, Primrose jauntingly responds with “Look, I cannot respond to that but just know that it is enough for me and my extended family.”
Both Lindiwe and Primrose have coexisted with what are considered social ills and degrading activities in society but for them, there is nothing degrading about sex work as this remains their choice of occupation. “I am not my work and I am a human being before I am a sex worker,” says Primrose.
FEATURED IMAGE: Condoms distributed at public toilets. Photo: Ayanda Mgeda
The school organized new workshops on codes of conduct after the sexual harassment drama of 2013. But the schools efforts are baring little fruit.
After last year’s revelations of improper sexual conduct by senior lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu, which lead to a commission of inquiry and ultimately the dismissal of wa Mamatu and other offenders, WSOA embarked on the process of drafting an “ethical practices in teaching and learning” handbook.
Catherine Duncan of WSOA told Wits Vuvuzela that the school needed to revisit a number of principles, values and responsibilities “from scratch” if the school was to be a “constructive and open environment for teaching, learning, and making art”. However, notices inviting arts students to participate in the workshops on one of three days, by signing their names up on a register provided under a description of the handbook, stood mostly empty.
They could be seen in and around the vicinity of the pale brown WSOA building- on the doors of classrooms and performance venues, as well as on notice boards and inside elevators. [pullquote align=”right”] “Doors? No one looks at doors. Why did they put them there?”[/pullquote]
Two weeks on, after the proposed dates of the workshop, those participation registers remain in position with a hardly a name on them.
Chairperson of WSOA’s school council Obett Motaung, 3rd year BADA, confirmed the poor attendance of the workshops.
“There were about 30-odd students who attended (workshops). You see we are facing an issue of student apathy,” Motaung said. Duncan admitted many had not engaged in the project. “That is also fine and their prerogative,” Duncan said.
Both Duncan and Motaung were eager to stress that the workshops were only one part of larger information gathering process that started in July last and would continue beyond this month’s workshops.
“We gathered all the relevant policy, codes of conduct, standing orders, findings of the investigation into sexual harassment at Wits last year, course guides and so on,” Duncan said.
She said key data from the research went into the student workshops for “development, consultation and feedback”.
CONFUSED: Hankysel Lee is one of the many students who did not know about the workshop. Photo: Mfuneko Toyana
It would also seem that there was poor publicity around the workshops. The majority of the WSOA students interviewed by Wits Vuvuzela were either unaware of the workshops or just did not care to be involved in the process.
Moshini Pillay, 2nd year Fine Arts, said putting the notices on doors was not a good idea and this was the main reason she had not attended. “Doors? No one looks at doors. Why did they put them there?” Hankysel Lee, 3rd year agreed that the visibility of the posters was ineffective.
She said she “just didn’t see the notices,” and that she might have attended if she had.
Shubham Mehta, 4th year film and TV, said he preferred not to participate in “extracurricular activity” outside of his studies and that he saw no benefit in participating in the workshops.
A draft of the handbook will be completed by end of term according to Duncan.
Wits athletes competing in Durban found themselves in a contest of a different kind: dodging the advances of prostitutes.
Female sprinter, Fikile Masikane, was among a group of 12 athletes who stayed at the Banana Backpackers Youth Hostel, which she believes also housed prostitutes working at the “brothel” next door.
Interactions with prostitutes
“I feel like we were staying with some of the prostitutes in the backpackers because there was a Japanese lady there who even asked me if I was ready to work [as a prostitute].”
Masikane said some of the male athletes were asked if they wanted “to buy” and were ogled by the alleged prostitutes as they stretched their muscles ahead of the championship.
SIES: Sprinter, Fikile Masikane was forced to stay next to a “brothel”. Photo: Mfuneko Toyana
“As some of the guys were stretching some of the prostitutes watched them, and one said to the other: ‘Lona u-fit, uyamufuna?’ [that one is fit, do you want him?],” she recounts.
“One of the guys appeared to be freaked out but the other guy calmed him down and told him to ignore it,” she said.
Masikane said one of the male athletes texted Marcus Toerien, the athletics manager, complaining: “When they said ‘banana’ I don’t think they were talking about the fruit.” She said Toerien just laughed in response.
The manager’s reaction
Masikane said Toerien dropped off the students at the hostel and saw the conditions but did not react.
“He was there for like three minutes and said the lady would show us our rooms.
Marcus’ wife asked him if they shouldn’t maybe get us supper before they left. He said something like ‘they’ll sort themselves out’,” Masikane said.
“Even his wife looked shocked by the state of the place, but Marcus didn’t care,” Okharedia said.
Masikane’s discomfort
Masikane had to share a room with some of the male athletes as she did not feel safe or comfortable staying in the single room that was booked for her.
The hostel was also grimy with a strong odour from the toilets: “We used hand sanitizer for everything,” she said. The Witsies also had to lay their own towels on the beds to avoid having their bodies touch the filthy sheets.
“I slept like this, ngigqokile [dressed],” she said pointing at her clothes.
The showers also had a “horrible smell” forcing the Witsies to use the showers at the stadium.
“I was terrified”
Masikane was also worried about her safety. Her bed was near the door and she got a fright when some of her teammates came home late at night.
“When they came back I was so scared. I didn’t realise it was them. As soon as they tried to open the door my heart leaped. I was so scared. It only clicked in seconds later that it was probably the other athletes but that just goes to show how terrified I was.”
“I felt safer with the guys but I knew that if anyone were to come in and ask for me there was nothing they could do to help me,” she said.
When Masikane returned from Durban she called her mother and told her about the conditions of the hostel.
“My mom cried when I told her where I stayed. She hung up on me and I could tell she wasn’t okay. She called back and said ‘why didn’t you tell me’,” Masikane said.
Masikane said her mother wants an explanation about the housing and an apology from Wits.
Masikane said she didn’t feel like she could approach Toerien about her discomfort as he had fought about the disorganisation of the Wits delegation with Okharedia at the stadium.
Wits Sports responds
Acting head of the sports administration department, Marius Henn, said the accommodation was recommended to them by USSA and they had “no reason to doubt that it would be suitable”.
“Unfortunately time and circumstances did not allow us to source alternative accommodation. Wits Sport will take this up with the LOC [local organising committee] and USSA National to try and avoid a reoccurrence,” Henn said.
Henn said he welcomed athletes to bring “constructive feedback” to him so they could discuss the matter.
Sex work activists encouraged an exciting and controversial talk in a “sex, culture and society” anthropology lecture on Friday, March 24.
Motsamai Mofokeng, a representative of sex worker movement Sisonke, was invited by professor Robert Thornton to a learning conversation with the students.
Thornton said anthropology has been in the forefront of research about sex and “the best way to learn about how other people think and how other cultures and situations work is to talk to real people doing real things”.
The students were very keen to discuss the topic. They asked a variety of questions, exceeding the lecture time.
“I am sure that there are religious and conservative students in the class, but all of them seem willing to learn and to open their minds,” said Thornton, adding that Witsies are very open to sex debates.
Rochelle Makweya, a 3rd year BA psychology student, said she enjoyed the lecture because it is something that affects all students.
“I think students everywhere are doing it, people everywhere are doing it. Maybe it’s not a direct transaction but there is some form of prostitution taking place [at Wits],” she said.
Her classmate Tammy said she felt uncomfortable due to the way in which the topic was discussed. “This, in my opinion, is a topic which could have engendered strong debate.
“However I felt that within this lecture the language used was crude, disrespectful and the topic was handled far too casually,” she said.
Teaching assistant Ziyad Choonara, who is a volunteer at Sisonke, said our society is very judgemental. “People in South Africa, they are not free when it comes to sex.
“People must try and be curious about it, try to understand what is going on, especially students,” he said.
Students were expecting a sex worker as a guest. Thornton said they tried but were unable to bring a female sex worker into the class, so “perhaps another time”.
Sisonke’s activists fight for the decriminalization of sex work in South Africa.
About a month ago a psychology professor at Northwestern University in Chicago allowed a couple to engage a live sex demonstration in an optional after-class lecture. The couple who performed the act were part of a group invited by the professor to discuss bondage and sexual fetishes. – NEWS 24
Sex work activists encouraged an exciting and controversial talk in a “sex, culture and society” anthropology lecture on Friday, March 24.
Motsamai Mofokeng, a representative of sex worker movement Sisonke, was invited by professor Robert Thornton to a learning conversation with the students.
Thornton said anthropology has been in the forefront of research about sex and “the best way to learn about how other people think and how other cultures and situations work is to talk to real people doing real things”.
The students were very keen to discuss the topic. They asked a variety of questions, exceeding the lecture time.
“I am sure that there are religious and conservative students in the class, but all of them seem willing to learn and to open their minds,” said Thornton, adding that Witsies are very open to sex debates.
Rochelle Makweya, a 3rd year BA psychology student, said she enjoyed the lecture because it is something that affects all students.
“I think students everywhere are doing it, people everywhere are doing it. Maybe it’s not a direct transaction but there is some form of prostitution taking place [at Wits],” she said.
Her classmate Tammy said she felt uncomfortable due to the way in which the topic was discussed. “This, in my opinion, is a topic which could have engendered strong debate.
“However I felt that within this lecture the language used was crude, disrespectful and the topic was handled far too casually,” she said.
Teaching assistant Ziyad Choonara, who is a volunteer at Sisonke, said our society is very judgemental. “People in South Africa, they are not free when it comes to sex.
“People must try and be curious about it, try to understand what is going on, especially students,” he said.
Students were expecting a sex worker as a guest. Thornton said they tried but were unable to bring a female sex worker into the class, so “perhaps another time”.
Sisonke’s activists fight for the decriminalization of sex work in South Africa.
About a month ago a psychology professor at Northwestern University in Chicago allowed a couple to engage a live sex demonstration in an optional after-class lecture. The couple who performed the act were part of a group invited by the professor to discuss bondage and sexual fetishes. – NEWS 24
People with disabilities are often not brought into critical discussions about LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, however, this is something the Wits Disability Rights Unit (DRU) wants to change.
Sexuality, gender and access to health services for people with disabilities were all up for discussion at the DRU’s first event for disability awareness month.
The webinar was held on Friday, July 21 and was centred around the harmful consequences of the prevalent stereotype that people with disabilities are not sexual beings, who experience desire like everybody else.
The month of July marks disability pride month and presents an opportunity to honour the experiences, histories and struggles of people with disabilities.
Tish Morpheus Geddes, senior administrator at the DRU, was especially proud of the panelists, as it brought together “people who work in sexual and reproductive health sectors, people doing research into disability and sexuality and members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as people with disabilities. We have a unique perspective.”.
Facilitator, Siya Hlongwa said: “Stereotypes become a benchmark for discrimination in healthcare services.” Geddes added that people with disabilities are viewed as asexual beings and so, “health care providers think this is not a group that must be considered” therefore limiting access to lifesaving sexual and reproductive health resources.
Thato Mphuti, the founding director of the organisation, Enabled Enlightenment said, “[The conversation the DRU has started] speaks to the work that we do” in trying to destigmatise sexual education with the parents and caregivers of people with disabilities, “there is no parenting manual and often parents are the biggest barriers when it comes to accessing sexual and reproductive health services.”
Geddes said that one of the central goals of the webinar was to have a truly accessible conversation. This was done through accessible marketing on social media, “you’ll notice that all of our posts have image descriptions.” In addition, the webinar was translated live into South African Sign Language as well as transcribed into text.
Sesona Buyeye, an attendee to the webinar and communications assistant for Ibis reproductive health, said, “Iit was such a great discussion with great insights shared, especially during disability awareness month.”
Similar events will be hosted by the unit throughout July, details available on their social media pages.
FEATURED IMAGE: A Wits student enters the Wits Disability Rights Unit on Wits main campus. Photo: Kimberley Kersten
Acting president of convocation at Wits discusses her career trajectory and her work to change people’s lives through HIV research.
Doctor Motlatso Godongwana is the youngest member of the Wits convocation executive committee (exco), and as a part of her role there, she is also an Academic Skills Development consultant operating from the Wits Science faculty. Exco members are voted in every three years, by the convocation, which is made up of the entire Wits University alumnus.
“I put my name forward in 2019 and to my surprise I got votes”, said Godongwana. This year she began serving her second term in the exco, which will come to an end in 2025.
As part of her duties as an Exco member, between Monday and Wednesday every week, she spends her time walking students through everything from course material to career decisions. All while working full time with the South African medical research council (SAMRC) as a senior scientist, specialising in HIV research.
Having graduated last year with a PhD in Demography and Population Studies, this year she was on the biggest stage on the Wits campus, conferring qualifications to recent graduates as the acting president of convocation. A task she shared with the president of convocation Stacey-Lee Bolon throughout the graduation season.
Her PhD research investigated the risks and incidences of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among people living with HIV — the work is important for addressing the challenges pertaining to treatment and management of HIV chronic comorbidities.
Although Godongwana grew up in Yeoville, her memories of happy childhood visits to her mother’s home, in Moletjie, Limpopo, are what grounds her. Responding to a tweet complimenting her blue convocation gown, she replied that as a “young girl from Limpopo, seeing myself in this picture is a dream come true”.
She said the best part of her work with students, is getting the opportunity to always learn something new. This is a philosophy she carries with her in every room she walks into.
“You appreciate the person in the street, you appreciate the person at church because that person is teaching me something about spirituality that I probably do not know about. The person in the street is teaching me something about humility that I probably do not know about. Every person I interact with is going to teach me something,” she said.
Godongwana started an initiative while she was doing her honours degree, called I Love Condoms that intended to give young women the information and confidence to practice agency in negotiating safe sex. The initiative empowered young women to introduce contraception into their relationship to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and it also provides these young women with alternatives to using relationships as a way out of poverty. She was featured on the Mail and Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans list in 2018 for founding the initiative.
Godongwana is inspired by her grandmother, who raised 7 grandchildren, at some point, on a single salary but still found time to collect her from primary school, and head to theology classes. Evidently, her work ethic, is hereditary.
Her sister, Moyagabo Rampedi believes that Godongwana’s greatest motivation is “making [their] grandmother proud”. Godongwana herself mentioned her gratitude for her faith and love for God, which were instilled by her grandmother.
She is also driven by the desire “to uplift [people from her community] and make them believe that whatever they set their minds to, they can achieve and there are examples of people who have done that”.
Her colleague Nomasonto Radebe said that Godongwana’s attitude towards challenges is: “if it does not challenge me, I am not learning”. Radebe added that she is very intentional and will “stop at nothing until she achieves a goal”.
By being the face of excellence at an institution of higher learning, Godongwana’s achievements are inspiring for other young black women. Her accomplishments are a testament that it is possible to be a young black girl from anywhere and make it to the greatest academic stage at Wits, if you so desire.
FEATURED IMAGE: Motlatso Godongwana during her graduation in 2022. She graduated from Wits with a PhD in Demography and Population Studies. Photo: supplied.
Statistics from the past year point to wide gaps in translation between what is being taught in schools about sex and what is really happening to many young girls in South Africa.
Societal expectations and experiences can often place pressure on people’s relationships. With Valentine’s Day coming up we have asked individuals questions about their views on certain relationship dynamics especially when it comes to the most anticipated day of the year for some lovers, Valentines Day. Viewers shared their beliefs and Siyanda and Katlego talk about […]
