- Government pledged decriminalisation in 2022, but progress has stalled.
- Sex workers and allies staged nationwide protests in June 2025.
- September hearing will decide who can join the court fight before the main trial.
Is South Africa finally on the brink of decriminalising sex work, or will this moment pass like so many promises before it?
In 2022, the government announced it would change the laws that criminalise sex work by introducing a Decriminalisation Bill. It was a pledge that sparked hope among thousands of sex workers who live under the constant threat of arrest, fines, police abuse, and stigma. But nearly three years later, that hope has been tested. The Bill has stalled in Parliament, and the daily reality for sex workers remains unchanged.
From withdrawal to waiting
The matter goes back to 30 May 2023, when then-deputy minister John Jeffery announced that the Department of Justice would withdraw the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill for revision. At the time, Jeffery promised urgent reform, consultations with sex workers and stakeholders, and a revised Bill to be introduced under the new administration.
“The decriminalisation of sex work and the human rights of sex workers remain high on government’s human rights agenda,” John Jeffery, 30 May 2023
Yet two years later, there has been no revised Bill, no roadmap, and no consultation process. Even repeated commitments in 2024 at Asijiki Coalition and Sisonke events have led to no visible action.
The streets speak: 2 June 2025
On International Sex Workers’ Day, the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work led a bold nationwide action to mark two years since the withdrawal of the Bill. Sex workers and activists gathered outside department’s provincial offices in all nine provinces, setting up symbolic “People’s Drafting Desks”, mock office spaces representing the legislative work abandoned in 2023.
These peaceful and creative protests demanded that the department restart the process, publish a clear and time-framed roadmap for a revised Bill, and honour its promise of meaningful, public consultation with sex workers and stakeholders. They also called for decisive political leadership from the Justice Ministry to finally deliver the reform that has been delayed for far too long.
Formal memoranda containing these demands were handed to each provincial office, with the hope that provincial officials would carry the message directly to national leadership.
Taking the fight to court
Just weeks before the protests, a sex worker known as SH, together with the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), had filed a constitutional challenge to strike down the criminal laws targeting adult sex workers and their clients. They argue these laws violate rights to equality, dignity, safety, privacy, and healthcare and that full decriminalisation is the only way to ensure lasting protection.
This is strategic litigation, using the courts to create systemic change, not just justice for one individual. If successful, the ruling could block any future government from reintroducing criminalisation or adopting the so-called Nordic Model, which punishes clients instead of workers.
The September test
In early 2025, the department signalled it would not oppose the case, instead asking the court to give Parliament time to finalise the Bill, SWEAT said in a statement. That opened the door for others, from feminist lawyers to religious networks, to apply to join the case either in support of or against decriminalisation. Some opponents have applied to become full respondents, arguing they must defend the existing law in the public interest.
To decide who may participate, the Western Cape High Court will hold a special hearing on 1–2 September 2025. The main case is expected towards the end of 2025 or early 2026.
If SH and SWEAT succeed, South Africa could finally take a historic step towards recognising sex work as work, ending decades of criminalisation and moving closer to global human rights standards.
Conviction.co.za
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